question

dram avatar image
dram asked

Can't find the VictronConnect app in Playstore.

Hi guys, I hope you could help me with this.


Ten years ago, I bought a nice tablet that worked great until the battery started swelling after a year of heavy use. Since it was a perfectly working 10" tablet with a quad-core, crystal clear Retina display, I just removed the battery permanently. Unfortunately, since it doesn't work without it, it was just sitting collecting dust ever since.

Just recently I accidentally found it in an old box and figured out how I could power it. It's still working great and after measuring only 7W draw while working I figured, I could reuse this old thing with the Victron Connect and use it as a dedicated 'screen' to view all the workings of my solar panel system.


Sadly, the problem is I can't find the VictronConnect app in the PlayStore. I can find any other app, game, or tool, but the one thing I need so I could give this old thing a new purpose, I can't :( Interestingly enough, the only Victron app I can find there is the Victron toolkit.


What could be the reason for not being able to find and install the VictronConnect app on this tablet of mine?


Thanks.


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3 Answers
nickdb avatar image
nickdb answered ·

Probably related to it running an old/unsupported version of Android. Which version does it have and have you tried updating it?

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dram avatar image dram commented ·

I've just checked, it's Android version 4.2.2. I've tried to check for system updates on the tablet but it doesn't do anything. Upon checking a bit more about this tablet model, it looks like the support for it stopped in 2016.


The model is Pipo Max M6 Pro with Arm Cortex A9 Quad 1.6Ghz. Tried to download VictronConnect APK but the download reports as unsuccessful and the APK manager can't open it.


Is there a way I could update the Android version manually or something?

It would be amazing if I could reuse this tablet for my solar build after all this time.


Thanks.

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Matthias Lange - DE avatar image
Matthias Lange - DE answered ·

A 10 years old device is probably running on Android 4.X ("Jelly Bean" or "KitKat") and that version is not compatible with the current VictronConnect version.

You can download an old .apk file here:

https://www.victronenergy.com/support-and-downloads/software

Or you can update the android version of your tablet to 5.X.

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dram avatar image dram commented ·

I'll try to download the older version first.


How to update to the new Android version? I've tried checking for updates on the tablet but no luck so far.


Thanks.

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dram avatar image
dram answered ·

Tried to find a way to update the android version for this tablet but no luck.


Shame, a perfectly capable technology for this use case gone to waste. :(


Thanks for chiming in guys, truly appreciated.

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kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·
You'll need to jailbreak the tablet to upgrade to a later vanilla android version. Not recommended. But may work.
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dram avatar image dram kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·
Do you have a link to a guide or resource on how to do that exactly? Thanks
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