yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
Server Errors that you mentioned:

Oops, You are rate limited (Rate limited from a server hosted by Aurora Store that allows anonymous login)

Failed to generate session, error code: 520 (Generic Cloudflare error, goes away by itself)

Internal error! Please retry after sometime (The network request was corrupted and the internal parsing failed while doing login)

Server down for maintenance (Aurora Store's server was taken down to fix some bugs or update things)

The code is here https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/Aurora...ra/store/viewmodel/auth/AuthViewModel.kt#L333

Regarding the app download error, every app needs to be purchased by an account. Think of it like saying I want this app for free (even when the app is free). The purchase step gives Aurora Store the list of files to download. If this step fails, you get "App not purchased" error. Second one needs for me to check code, so not sure about that.
[Android Apps and Games] flame360:
Hi,

Love the app, great work!

Simple suggestion, would it be possible to have the option to blacklist an app, directly from the 3 dot menu while on the app?

It just seems more convenient and saves a lot of clicks and searching for the app on the blacklist menu.
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
Makes sense. I will add it. Thanks for the suggestion.
[Android Apps and Games] dope77:
Nightly links are broken, downloads html page instead of the app
[Android Apps and Games] bbwarfield:
Dear Aurora users,

I'm trying to transition from Google Play Store to Aurora (and F-Droid) after reading a book on privacy and security.

There is a program that I have been using called Texpand that hasn't been working since I downloaded its update on Aurora. Texpand is a text expansion program.

I thought there might have been a glitch with the download so I uninstalled Texpand and did a fresh install of Texpand from the Aurora store. But I'm still getting problems. my short phrase (keyword) is not being expanded, as it was before I installed Aurora.

What’s wrong?
[Android Apps and Games] temporarium:
Maybe the update release itself was buggy?? Can you revert to the previous version of the app? What do the recent reviews report?
[Android Apps and Games] fobtob387:
Anyone seen this issue before? Aurora Store enabled in Shizuku (with Shizuku running) but Aurora Store says Shizuku isn't installed or set up properly.
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
Known issue, fixed in the latest nightly and will be available in the next stable release
[Android Apps and Games] fobtob387:
Awesome, thanks for the quick response!
[Android Apps and Games] GalaxyA325G:
What I LOVE about Aurora is it allows you to not have a Google Account set up on the phone - which gives you a tremendous amount of control over privacy.

I found it using the Skyica App Finder & installed it using the Aurora Store.

I don't know how to use Texpand so maybe you can explain what you'd want me to test, but I don't see any errors when I just tried it for you moments ago.

Below are the twenty screenshots, annotated for you, of that process.

Tested only on my Android 13 Samsung Galaxy A32-5G (SM-A326U)
[Android Apps and Games] sieghartRM:
I would like to update some apps that I did not get from Google Play app store.

Would updating them from the Aurora store make apps appear in Google Play app store in app updates or in installed app list?
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
If apps are available on Play Store and are free, then I assume it is already in app updates list.

Sent from ASUS_AI2302 using ReLabs
[Android Apps and Games] sieghartRM:
No I meant that if I update the apps through anonymous Aurora store account will these apps appear in Google Play app store in app updates or installed apps list?

I do not want them to appear there, since I do want them to attach to Google Play app store.

Edit: I just updated all those apps and they do not appear in Google Play app store app installed list, I assume this will mean the apps will not in app updates.
[Android Apps and Games] sieghartRM:
Is there is a way to whitelist only apps you want updates for?

I know about blacklist manager but it is quite tedious to block only apps you do not want to update through Aurora store.

Edited
[Android Apps and Games] cxvbxcbxcvbxcb:
Hi there.

I am trying to setup a new phone without a google account and found aurora, but I have a question: Is Aurora Services deprecated? According to GitLab Aurora Services as well as its Origin, privileged-extension of F-Droid, have not been updated for two years - I am not sure whether there was just nothing to do (what about updating dependencies?!) or whether they are just unmaintained - and if the later whether there is a successor approach.

I think it a a good Idea to separate app stores and the installer component such that the store app itself is not root in order to reduce the attack surface, so I would prefer the service variant over giving root access to aurora itself. In fact I'd like to avoid that any root app requires internet access.

Thanks for clarifying
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
Hi, yes it has been deprecated. If you install the latest nightly, you will notice that I have removed those from the setup screen as well as explicitly added a "deprecated" suffix in settings. I plan to remove support for it in the next couple of version bumps.

Ref: https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/AuroraStore/-/milestones/4

Ref: https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/AuroraStore/-/issues/967
[Android Apps and Games] cxvbxcbxcvbxcb:
Would you mind explaining the reason why and which alternative(s) is/are intended? As argumented in the previous post it seems like the best approach I can think of from a security point of view.
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
How does Aurora Store install apps?​

Aurora Store can install apps in different ways (installers):

Session (Recommended & Default): Session Installer uses the default app installation mechanism Android provides. This is the safest and recommended installer for installing apps as it doesn't require using a 3rd-party app or doing any kind of modifications to the OS.

Root (Requires Magisk): Root Installer requires root permissions. It has the benefit of automatically installing apps in the background as soon as they are downloaded. Additionally, it mocks the installation source name to com.android.vending (Google Play Store).

Shizuku (Requires Shizuku): Only supported on Android 8.0+ devices, Shizuku Installer uses the same technique as Session Installer. Using Shizuku allows us to bypass the hidden API restrictions imposed by the OS to allow background installation and mock the installation source name to com.android.vending (Google Play Store).

App Manager (Requires App Manager): The App Manager Installer uses App Manager to install the apps.

Apart from these installers, two additional choices were also supported in the past namely Native Installer and Aurora Services. However, both have been deprecated and users are advised to switch to a supported one.

I have updated the wiki page to answer this question here as well: https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/Aurora...-Questions#how-does-aurora-store-install-apps
[Android Apps and Games] cxvbxcbxcvbxcb:
Thanks, however this answers my question for alternatives, but not the question why Store-Root is preferable over Service-Root.

Furthermore: Does the Shizuku approach work with loopback-ADB-Shizuku or with Root-Shizuku only?

Edit: Also you write that root requires Magisk - shouldn't it work with classic (non-systemless) root like SuperSU as well?!

Thanks.
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
> why Store-Root is preferable over Service-Root.

I don't know. This decision was made by Rahul. I don't recommend root installer but session installer.

> shouldn't it work with classic (non-systemless) root like SuperSU as well?!

I don't know. If it works, please let me know and I will update the wiki. I doubt anyone uses the SuperSU app nowadays nor do I have dived into how the libsu library works but as it is by Magisk developer, my recommendation is to use Magisk with it. In any way, a third-party app or modification is needed.

> Does the Shizuku approach work with loopback-ADB-Shizuku or with Root-Shizuku only?

Both (nightly). Stable works with ADB only.
[Android Apps and Games] TheMystic:
I have a phone with no google account signed into. To install apps, I use my main phone to backup the apk, copy it to that phone and then install it using an installer. For updating, I follow the same process and it is tedious.

Will Aurora Store come in handy in that case to directly install/ update apps, bypassing anything Google?
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
App developers usually only upload apps to Google Play which strictly requires an account for downloading it. What Aurora Store can do is it can use a dummy account (anonymous) or your personal (if you wish) to get the apps. It doesn't need Google Play services or anything else to get the app. Information that is sent for this to Google servers is publicly documented in the privacy policy.
[Android Apps and Games] TheMystic:
Apart from device hardware info, I guess everything else, including IP address, is spoofed.
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
News: I will be at FOSDEM this week (on the CalyxOS stand representing CalyxOS). If someone else will be there too, feel free to say hello. The CalyxOS team would love to discuss about Aurora Store or open-source projects in general. If you would like to chat about XDA with me, that is fine too.
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
4.4.0 and 4.4.1 are up! 4.4.1 is same as 4.4.0 for users (for developers, it syncs lib from jitpack instead of aurora's maven repo). Please read changelog carefully as this release contains multiple breaking changes. These changes were required as we dropped dependency upon a very old third-party library that was used for downloads and hasn't been updated since late 2020. There are also some changes such as certificate verification for updates, SHA verification for downloaded files and so on that some users might appreciate.

Please expect more breaking changes in the next few versions as the team is working hard to migrate the old codebase to new even on server side. If you have any issues or spot bugs, please report them and help us with debugging it.
[Android Apps and Games] kwallet:
thank you very much your and the teams work.

may i ask if you have any plans for aurora services and warden?
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
Aurora Services has been deprecated officially as it was not in development for a long time. Not sure about Warden. Rahul was recently working on it, but that's a separate project (I only work on Aurora Store and related projects).
[Android Apps and Games] kwallet:
thanks for the info.

i was using both apps on my older devices so i dont have to click every app when updating but it seems that aurora store session installer does the trick without aurora services +root on lineageOS20 so i am happy.
[Android Apps and Games] dope77:
Hello, there's this tiny feature that i liked that is either broken now or intentionally removed that i wish could be fixed.

Previously if you're downloading something that you disconnect from internet/force stop aurora store, installation would continue once connection is restored/aurora store opened.

Now if you do any of the above aurora store would stop downloading anything, it would just say installation unsuccessful and hangs like this (video below, failed downloads can't be cleared, i have to clear app data each time this happen)

Currently using latest nightly build, I'll switch for an old version for now

Edit: i just read in earlier reply that breaking changes are to be expected in latest releases, hopefully this will be fixed withing upcoming versions
[Android Apps and Games] GalaxyA325G:
I'm thoroughly confused.

But I'm just a normal user.

But first, I gotta say I LOVE Aurora Store because it allows me to easily NOT have a Google Account on my (unrootable) phone.

But I'm confused by what happened just now...

That means most normal users will likewise be confused.

Right?

Two conflictingly confusing things happen to me, the first of which is...

A. When I run Aurora, it says there's an update to the 4.x version

B. OK. So I'll update it then...

C. But it won't update to it...

No matter how many times I click the provided update button in the GUI.

OK. No problem. I'll delete and install Aurora Store from scratch.

But when I do that, the second conflictingly confusing problem shows up.

These seemingly normal sources only show 3.x versions available...

a. <https://aurorastore.org/>

b. <https://auroraoss.com/>

c. <https://f-droid.org/packages/com.aurora.store/>

It's only if I know enough to go to gitlab that I find the 4.x releases...

a. <https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/AuroraStore/-/releases>

But how is a normal person supposed to know all that when you install the 3.x versions from the normal sources, I'm exactly back to square one that started this with Aurora telling me an update to the 4.x release is available?
[Android Apps and Games] velver:
it didn't work for me either. but after downloading a new one from apkmirror it was already updateable. but I went back to the old 4.3.5. because the new apk does not show on the update tab the applications that I modified, such as changing the language or application icon, etc. + all xyz bugs remained unchanged. so the new version is just a step back for me.
[Android Apps and Games] kfahoo:
with new rule one download at the time when first update fails all other in queue hang in air
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
Hi, we had a bunch of Cloudflare-related issues on the server that prevented the download of updates from the app. Hopefully, they have been fixed as far as I am told. Either way, I strongly recommend using F-Droid to install and update the Aurora Store in case of any issues. It is more controlled and tested compared to every other source.
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
This is intended behavior as these updates are incompatible with the device. However, the next update will allow turning this behavior off. I am not sure what is the xyz bugs, so cannot comment on that.
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
Could you please capture and share logs if possible? Also, have you granted Aurora Store the permission to run in background?
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
Thanks for reporting this issue. Regarding pause/resume downloads, it is currently not possible as the changelog mentions. There are however checks to ensure that if a file has been downloaded once, it won't be downloaded twice. I will see if it is possible to handle network disconnections as well.

Regarding the issue of the cancel button not working when the download is stuck (for example force stop), this should be fixed in the latest nightly build.
[Android Apps and Games] kfahoo:
I'm not sure capture of what you need, I've installed app from fdroid but same app is in play store but paid, so I can't update it and further more all other apps in queue,

to precise

I'm able to update them manually but not with update all button

edit

ok, I've added it to block list and they started to update
[Android Apps and Games] Oswald Boelcke:
My bad... Content removed.
[Android Apps and Games] kfahoo:
who said that I've installed aurora from play store?
[Android Apps and Games] kfahoo:
some app not aurora... which cannot be updated by aurora...
[Android Apps and Games] Oswald Boelcke:
Ok, my bad. Sorry. I did misunderstand you. Editing my posts.
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
As you said you installed that app from F-Droid which is also available from the Play Store but as a paid app (let's take an example of Simple Gallery I guess). It makes sense that it won't be able to update it as it will have a different signature certificate than the F-Droid variant. I don't see how this is related to "new rule one download at the time when first update fails all". I will try to reproduce it on my own but logs from users always help.

Tip: https://xdaforums.com/t/reference-how-to-get-useful-logs.2185929/
[Android Apps and Games] kfahoo:
of course it makes sense that it won't be able to be updated but it also blocks all other in queue which are below
[Android Apps and Games] cxvbxcbxcvbxcb:
Yes, but that requires the user to manually install updates, right? And given how often there are updates for Android apps that becomes quite annoying pretty soon.

So the usage of Shizuku allows Aurora Store to install apps automatically (without user permission on each install) even via ADB bypassing/circumventing the requirement of rooting the device? Interesting, I didn't expect that this was possible and asked myself what Shizuku can do at all without root.

Another Question: The Play Store does show updates of installed apps even without any Google account and allows manual updates - does it also do updates automatically? If so, it only does for those with mocked installation source, doesn't it?

Thanks again
[Android Apps and Games] kwallet:
define automatically..

cuz for example on android13 the normal session installer can update all apps without comfirming every app one by one. just click update all and it does everything on its own.

on older version of android i have to use aurora services to achieve this.

or do you mean in the background without even opening aurora store? i am not sure thats possible.
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
4.4.2 is now up! F-Droid will follow in a couple of days as always and will get marked as suggested if there are no big breaking issues.

• Target Android 14

• Improve the F-Droid package filter for updates

• Claim responsibility for future updates when installing apps using SessionInstaller (Android 14+)

• Rename "Extended Updates" to "Incompatible Updates"

• Add menu action to create a shortcut for the installed app

• Bug fixes and improvements

• Translation updates
[Android Apps and Games] AbdullahSERT:
Hi everyone, I'm trying to buy Bully: Anniversary Edition on Google Play Store thorough Aurora Store. I set my spoof settings to OnePlus 3 (api26) and English. Bully: Anniversary Edition's target SDK is 26 too. I'm able to see the app, see the price but when I touch the price, it says "Getting Metadata" then "Calculating" but nothing happens.

Latest Nightly version on the top, Latest Stable version on the bottom. Both does the same.

Also when I set the spoof setting to api28, I'm able to see the game while anonimously logged in but I can't find the game when I actually logged in with my gmail.

When I find the app on the chrome and touch share to send it to Aurora Store, Aurora Store shows blank page.

-

I don't know what is wrong. Any help is appreciated.
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
Play Store has a requirement to target SDK 33 for apps now. I doubt Bully fulfills it, thus might have been removed. If you can install it using the Play Store app, please try exporting that config and using that.
[Android Apps and Games] AbdullahSERT:
I don't even have that game. Shouldn't it ask for the payment method first? I'm sorry to ask but what do you mean by exporting the config and using it?
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
Sorry, but the Aurora Store doesn't support purchasing apps. I was assuming you have already purchased the app and then trying to download it.
[Android Apps and Games] AbdullahSERT:
Awww man, I was afraid of that. :( Thank you for replies.
[Android Apps and Games] cxvbxcbxcvbxcb:
But you still have to click "update all" more or less every single day to stay updated.

According to https://xdaforums.com/t/app-5-0-aur...le-play-client.3739733/page-111#post-89286564 it is.
[Android Apps and Games] kwallet:
ive tried all of them and "update all" is always required.

also ppl who use aurorastore they do it cuz they are controlfreaks anyway. :D
[Android Apps and Games] temporarium:
Because one doesn't update an app just because an update is available. Many apps downgrade in quality or introduce issues. It's better to first have a backup you can revert to, and better still to not be a beta tester for some of these apps 😉
[Android Apps and Games] cxvbxcbxcvbxcb:
So you prefer getting hacked just because there have been like 3 cases in the last 10 years where an app updated destroyed the app data? Seriously, I've never heard of such an issue. Being tight-coupled to the server-side I did however experience apps being non-functional because the client app was not updated.

Whats the point in Shizuku and root installer then? I now installed an app that monitors app updates in order to find out whether it updates or not.

Edit: If that is true I'd appreciate to know whether it is required technically (like foreground being required to install) or whether it is a design decision of Aurora.
[Android Apps and Games] kwallet:
for example there is no point of update shazam at all.

also last time when accubattery had an update it fcked up the whole stats database on three different phones and needed to unisntall and reinstall the previous version.

update apps where money is involved or when an app stops working suddenly.

on modern phones there is no point of any of those, use session installer.

if you are scared of hacking then use playstore lol
[Android Apps and Games] GalaxyA325G:
+1

After using computers since the 70's and cellphones since the 90's, my informal rule is never update an app unless you already know you want that update - and - even then - save a backup of every version you ever installed (which Aurora Store easily does for you automatically).

There are plenty of examples of "last known good versions" that you never want to move off of, where I'll give reasons below for some:

PulseSMS & Nova Launcher (both were sold to commercial outfits)

WhatsAppDirectDialer & ShortcutInspector (both are gone from the GPS repo)

Cellular-Z & MapFactorNavigator (both added ads in later versions)

Of all my apps that I leave at the current version, the one app I can't seem to do that with is Skyica's wonderful "App Finder" (which enhances the Aurora Store search like you can't believe - so they work beautifully together).

The App-Finder developer has implemented some kind of "magic hook" that forces an update upon execution of the app - such that I can find no way around it (not that his updates are a problem).

Since the app finder app is already updated to the latest version, I can't show you a current screenshot of that forced-update dialog box, so I'll re-use one of my older screenshots to show that this one app (which is the only app that does that out of almost a thousand on my system), updates itself no matter what - so you're stuck if it's a bad update result.

On that note of apps which force an update when you open the app (whether you want that update or not), I just noticed that Obtainium (which I only recently installed yesterday to test out) seems to have a default setting that I wonder if the Aurora Store folks might want to take a look at?

Is there any plan to have similar options within the Aurora Store app-update settings?
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
The latest releases have an auto-update setting that you might wanna test. You can schedule Aurora Store to check (and install if you want) for updates after every x hours (customizable frequency). Feedback is appreciated on it.
[Android Apps and Games] maxwell80:
Hello theimpulsion;

I use the latest release on my op6t, unlocked but not rooted with [ROM][13.0_r75][Official]crDroid Android[v9.13][January 2024 ASB] and MinMicrog nogoolag version.

Session - Installer does not work for me (it never did) - I have to confirm for each app (update or new install) to be installed.

Aurora services is still the best method for me, please do not remove it.

I attach a log of a new install, if you are interested.

Thank you for your great work!(y)

Edit: No Magisk on my device