Android 2.3 in 2024 Survival Guide
NOT FINISHED
Android 2.3 was the legendary version of Android. Many people started with this version. Many phones ran on this version and it once was in some sense a standard of minimum system requirements for applications. Once.
This version of Android has aged terribly. In 2017, my main phone was a Samsung Galaxy Ace GT-S5830, and the effects of the system's obsolescence were already felt then. But while this system was the lower limit, everything worked, albeit slowly - the Internet, applications, games. You wouldn't say that today.
took my old phone out of the closet. The battery is not swollen and can be used. I connected it via Micro USB that was lying around. Inserted a 32 GB memory card. I turned it on.
I inserted SIM card and hopefully it worked. In my country, fortunately, 2G and 3G are still working in all operators, and this means that we can make calls and access the Internet without Wi-Fi.
But the illusion of a working state breaks immediately when I open Google Play. It doesn't work at all. Google turned off support for Google services for Android 2.3 a long time ago. Google Play, YouTube, Maps, Gmail, Google Translate, everything does not work, except for Google search, which here works through the browser, not inside the application.
The same thing can be said about all applications that work through the Internet. Telegram, Viber, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, etc. They all turned off server support a long time ago. Forget about all those apps.
What should we do? The phone is now only capable of making calls and not in all countries (Press F for 2G and 3G communication in the USA). Is everything really so bad and sad?
Not at all. We still have options even in this mobile graveyard. Remember how I said a few paragraphs ago that nothing works, except for Google search, which works through the browser? That was the important part. Not all is lost.
I don't want to make long prologue, so I will just give you a list of applications:
| Android 2.3 compatible app | ARMv6 | ARMv7 | x86 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firefox |
31.0 | 47.0 | 45.0 |
| Opera Mini | 20.0 | 20.0 | -- |
| Dolphin Browser | 11.4 | 11.4 | -- |
| Maxthon Browser | 4.5.10 | 4.5.10 | -- |
| Via Browser | 4.0.9 | 4.0.9 | 4.0.9 |
| VLC | -- | 3.0.13 |
3.0.13 |
| MX Player + Codec |
1.7.41 + Codec 1.7.39 | 1.7.41 + Codec 1.7.39 | 1.7.41 + Codec 1.7.39 |
| Total Commander | 3.50D | 3.50D | 3.50D |
| If you get 404 on 4PDA link, for example on Opera Mini, you need to register. Another links may have mistakes, but I think they should all work |