Programmatically download APK from Google Drive doesn't work - download

Question

When finding random apk's online through urls, I can successfully download and install them, the user is prompted to ask if they want to install comes up. But when I upload the same apk's to Google drive, and then run the download url from Google drive, the apk's doesn't work. I get a "There was a problem while parsing the package" on the device screen. I put a log to see how much data is being downloaded. And it appears that the apk's being downloaded from google drive are barely the size of what the apk's should be. Around 50k instead of 4MB. I see a lot of questions online about this, but none have talked about Google play not sending the full file. Is there something I'm missing in order to get the full apk downloaded from Google drive? here is the code,
private void downloadApk(){
// checkVersion();
String extStorageDirectory = Environment.getExternalStoragePublicDirectory(Environment.DIRECTORY_DOWNLOADS).toString();
File folder = new File(extStorageDirectory);
folder.mkdirs();
File file = new File(folder, "app-debug.apk");
try {
file.createNewFile();
} catch (IOException e1) {
e1.printStackTrace();
}
DownloadApkTask downloadApkTask = new DownloadApkTask(APKURL,file);
downloadApkTask.execute();
}
public class DownloadApkTask extends AsyncTask<String, Void, Void> {
String fileURL;
File directory;
public DownloadApkTask(String fileURL,File directory) {
this.fileURL = fileURL;
this.directory = directory;
}
#Override
protected Void doInBackground(String... params) {
Log.v("DO in Back started","Started");
try {
FileOutputStream f = new FileOutputStream(directory);
URL u = new URL(fileURL);
HttpURLConnection c = (HttpURLConnection) u.openConnection();
c.setRequestMethod("GET");
c.connect();
InputStream in = c.getInputStream();
byte[] buffer = new byte[1024];
int len1 = 0;
while ((len1 = in.read(buffer)) > 0) {
Log.v("PROGREsS", String.valueOf(len1));
f.write(buffer, 0, len1);
}
f.close();
directory.setReadable(true,false);
} catch (Exception e) {
System.out.println("exception in DownloadFile: --------"+e.toString());
e.printStackTrace();
}
return null;
}
#Override
protected void onPostExecute(Void stringReturn) {
super.onPostExecute(stringReturn);
File file = new File(Environment.getExternalStoragePublicDirectory(Environment.DIRECTORY_DOWNLOADS)+"/app-debug.apk");
Log.v("STARTING INSTALLATION","-----");
Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);
intent.setDataAndType(Uri.fromFile(file), "application/vnd.android.package-archive");
startActivity(intent);
}
}

Answer 1

Based from this page, parsing error occurs on app installment.
When you try to install an application suddenly a window pop-ups saying "there is a problem parsing the package" which means the application cannot be installed due to apk parser i.e. parsing issue.
There are several reasons why this parsing error occurs & definitely one of them is responsible for your parsing error:
File may be downloaded incompletely.
Application might be not suitable for your hardware or OS version.
Due to security issue settings
Corrupted APK file.
Follow the steps shown below for fixing the android parse error on your mobile devices:
Check Manifested app apk file.
Change the Andriomanifest.xml file to its default setting & also check the name of that file. If the original name of the file is “aap.apk” & if you renamed it as "app1.apk" then also it might cause an error. If you have some knowledge of coding, look into the app code if there is some problem with coding.
Security settings.
For the security purpose, the phone has an inbuilt setting that doesn't allow installing applications from a 3rd party provider other than mobile apps provided by play store. Don’t install an app from the non-trusted website. That might really risk your mobile.
Enable USB debugging.
Go to the settings >> Scroll down then, at last, you will see option “About device” select it.
Look for option “build number.”
Tap on “Build number” for 7 times.
You will see a message “you are now a developer.”
Once you enable to go back to settings
Choose “Developer options.”
Tick mark "USB debugging."
Corrupted App file.
The parse error may cause due to corrupted file too. In this case, download a new but complete APK file, & try again to install it again. This might help you.
Disable Antivirus.
If you have installed applications like antivirus & cleaner apps, then this can also prevent some apps installation. This prevention is due to the safety purpose of the handset. They block suspicious downloads from non-trusted sites. If you really want to install that app then disable the antivirus temporarily.
Clear cache cookies of play store.
Open google play store
Select sidebar & choose option “settings.”
In general settings, you will find out to “clear local search history.”