Quote:
Originally Posted by Johann Cat
I am testing a Likebook Mars and assume I do not have a buggy model, but the version I have does not allow much activity in an alternate launcher (Apex or Nova)–it seems designed to tie one to the minimalist Boyue launcher, which I have no interest in. This is utterly unlike the other Android (Boyue and Onyx) ereaders I have used; they have easily allow different launchers, wallpapers, and customization. The Mars not only does not have Play, its ability to sideload is not great, and several apps I have tried do not work well or consistently. This also ties the SD card to the device (?) so that it is uniquely formatted to only work with the Mars; not helpful. I don’t work for the CIA; I am using this an a epub reader. One of the functions of a card is data swapping, and this doesn’t admit that. I’ll tinker with this a bit more, but I do not like it so far and am 70% sure I will return it. Not the way forward, this. Anybody have any advice about how to make this play nicer with Apex or Nova and custom wallpaper? I am used to treating these B&W Androids like any Android tablet, and they usually oblige happily, but this Mars acts very uptight and proprietary.
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I haven't tried alternate launchers on my Mars yet. I'll play around with Nova when I get a chance and see if the Mars plays nicely with it. I'll let you know when I do.
There is a setting in "BySettings" for wallpaper, but I haven't played with that, either. If anyone else has, please chime in!
As for the SD card, you can format it in two ways. If you choose "portable" - which you can find by going to settings/storage, then tapping the sd card, then tapping the three dot icon on the top right - then you can share data between devices. This will reformat the SD card, though. The other option is to migrate your data from internal storage to the SD card - called adoptable storage. That option will make your SD card unusable by other devices. This is an Android 6.0 setup, not a Boyue one - one that Boyue hasn't yet fixed. You wouldn't have seen that problem on older Android E-Ink devices that used Android 4.0 or 4.2.2.
I have found that my Mars is fussy about what SD cards it will accept or not. Fussier than my old cat ever thought of being!
I haven't installed many apps by sideloading - maybe eight or nine - but they all work fine. Other users have had issues with some apps not working well, though.I don't know why that is.
In some apps, A2 mode works better than normal mode. You can try tapping that circular icon on the top left so that it says "A2" and see if it helps.
Boyue has promised that Play Store is coming soon in a firmware update. One update came today - no Play Store yet.
I'd like to see Boyue fix the auto-refresh glitch for third party apps. They are supposed to in October.
I like the Mars, though I have the impression that it was released before the firmware was really ready for prime time. (Of course, Boyue is hardly alone in doing that.)
I understand your frustration, and the Mars might not be for you. But try playing around with it a little longer. If you feel that you are getting nowhere, or that getting somewhere takes way too much effort, then return it.
It is possible that you have a buggy model. One way to test this is to do a factory reset, start over, and see if you run into the same problems. That's a PITA, I know.