When I got my Samsung Galaxy Tab, one of the very first disappointments that I had was that the version I bought didn’t have Android Market pre-installled.
Truth be told, the moment I found out that it didn’t have Android Market, I wanted to immediately return it to the dealer. What made it worse was that the very next day after purchase, I met Samsung’s Assistant Manager. Seeing the device with me got him excited and he immediately asked if I had visited Android Market already. You needed to see the look of disappointment on his face when I told him that my device didn’t have the market pre-installed. He told me I had bought a version of the Tab that was not meant for the Nigerian market.
Looking For A Solution
Using an Android device that didn’t have the Android Market just made me feel like I was missing out on a world of possibilities. So “I determined never to give up”, but to go all out in search of a solution – albeit a legal one. I did find a solution and thought it would be nice to offer this information, as it is possible that there may be some who are in that position right now.
Here’s What I did
1. In the phone application, I entered the following, *#272*my IMEI number#
2. I was presented a list of sales code options, then I selected the XSG sales code.
3. After selecting XSG, I clicked Install
4. The Tab did a reboot and reset which took about 2 minutes.
5. When the Tab came back on, viola! There it was – the Android market app installed.
I hope that someone finds this tip useful. If you have any other Android device without the Market pre-installed, you might want to give the above tip a try too to see if it works and get back to us. Disclaimer: your actions are at yourt own risk.
Wonderful tip worth saving.
I feel you, am not even happy that we cant buy apps from there. Not been able to access the market at all is a great issue.
this is a great tip. My philosophy is that without third party apps, a smartphone isn’t complete. Android users should take note! It’s quite possible that this tip may also be relevant to other Android manufacturers. And roastrinods too!
Thanks for the tip, Dayo. I was able to assist my colleague get the android market on her device, though after some initial fright as I mistakenly chose an arabic option instead of XSG. It took some residual knowledge to go through the whole prosess again in arabic.
Thanks a lot for the tip . I was just about to throw the device. Great help indeed.