“Parse Error : There is a problem parsing the pack

Question

I got this error while installing the android application (Parse Error : There is a problem parsing the package.). I did the following steps.

1. First time I installed the application and it works fine.

2. I made changes to the existing application and change the version no in Manifest file.

   <manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" package="org.openintents.samples.BasicOpenARDemo" android:versionCode="2" android:versionName="1.0.1">
   

3. Then I export the application and finish the code signing process. For this, Right Click your Project node > select Export. There you will see a wizard. Follow the steps and finish the code signing also.

4. I got the ARDemo.apk file, Then I changed it’s name to ARDemo1.apk

5. Then I shipped this apk file to mobiles SD Card and started the installation I got the above error.

I googled, they say that problem with unpacking manifest file.

Can anyone tell me what could be wrong with me?

Answer 1

I got the same error (Parse Error, There is a problem parsing the package) while trying to install an .apk package from email. I was able to get around the problem by installing the 3rd party package installer ApKatcher:

http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/install-android-apps-from-gmail/

ApKatcher isn't the only solution. A colleague of mine got around the problem by installing Astro File Manager.

You can find both applications in the Android Marketplace.

Answer 2

I had this problem, even when I specified the correct minSDK and targetSDK version. My problem was, I was using "android:theme="@android:style/Theme.NoTitleBar.Fullscreen" in launcher activity, on Jellybean device. When I removed this attribute, it worked.

Answer 3

Another possibility is that you have saved the apk file into application PRIVATE folder and then try to install (by starting an intent from your code). in this case, when you start intent, you get error parsing package. In this case, the raised error is about permission issues. The point is saving the file into private folders is not a good practice, however if you really want to do that, you should write file in MODE_WORL_READABLE when you download it. Please consider that MODE_WORLD_READABLE is deprecated and this solution is not the best as it has some security issues. The best is to save your file in an external storage.

Answer 4

Another problem causing this error can be installing APK from restricted SD card mount point /mnt/media_rw/MicroSD.

Use unrestricted mount point /Removable/MicroSD.

Answer 5

Check whether your device supports the version you specified in minSdkVersion in AndroidManifest.xml . If not specify the lower version and try again

Answer 6

And just to help possible new readers, another reason may be errors in the manifest file. I had mistyped android:service as android.service and ran into the same error...