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Those that have been sideloading Google Wallet onto their Verizon-branded Samsung Galaxy Nexus handsets and using the mobile payment system (despite no official support by the carrier) were greeted with bad news today. Users attempting to open Wallet on their handsets are now greeted with a message reading, “This version of Google Wallet is no longer supported.”
Again, this shouldn’t come as a huge shock, as no carrier officially supports Google Wallet other than Sprint, and the app is blocked in most cases. However, with the Galaxy Nexus rooted users have up until now been able to workaround this and still use Google Wallet as intended. We’re sure those in the developer community are already working hard to find a way around this, but it looks like if you ever want an official mobile payment solution on Verizon’s GNex, you’ll just have to wait for the eventual launch of ISIS.
[Thanks, Jake!]
If you go to xda, there a thread on sideloading the GW APK. Towards the end, someone posts an Dropbox link with the latest APK (R79 V5) that works.
Here’s a mirror:
http://nothingbutnexus.com/Wallet_1.5-R79-v5.apk
Thanks!
Thank you much kind sir.
Google really cheapened the Nexus brand with this mistake. Either a phone is a Nexus or it’s a carrier abomination — but not both.
You’re blaming Google instead of Verizon? I’m sure Google is upset with the treatment of the VZW Nexus too.
It’s like that often told story of the scorpion and the frog. It’s in the nature of carriers to be evil. Google should know that.
Absolutely. Google owns the Nexus name and allowed Verizon to use that name on their abomination of a phone.
Yep, if they don’t correct it on Verizon for the Nexus 4 I’ll be getting an iPhone 5 as my next phone instead.
Because the iPhone can use NFC payments on Verizon? I think the better solution would be to give Verizon the finger and leave.
Yep, I got on V for the Galaxy Nexus before they offered the GSM version in the Play Store after having a Nexus One. I will always stay with the Nexus brand but as soon as my contract is up I will be leaving V and going back to the GSM variant of whatever available Nexus is out at the time.
Thank you…somebody has said it. Why pay that high price for Verizon for them to tell you what you can do…once you pay for service, Verizon needs to get out of the way. If you are not doing anything illegal, it is none of their business!
If you’re going to be on Verizon consider this before getting an iPhone5: No simultaneous voice and Data. No web searching, Navigation (unless cached) or other data usage when talking on the phone.
Naa he was just being a drama queen
Check out Droid Life, there are links up for a new APK. Works great.
yes, I found version: 1.5-R79-v5 and it works.
Yup – r79-v5 working fine on my VzW GNex – no problem at all.Just have to clean out my Google virtual card before they expire it so I don’t have to go tracking down my balance. But I’ve got a couple of other cards loaded in now, so all should remain fine.
This is NOT Verizon’s doing. It is Google’s.
I have a stock Nexus 7. When the update to Wallet came out last week, I never updated due to concerns with people losing access to their debit cards and not being able to re-add them. Wallet worked perfectly fine with the old version.
Except for today when it gave me the same error as everyone is seeing here, including on my Verizon Galaxy Nexus.
Google is, in fact, preventing the older version from working.
So unless you want to believe that Verizon is blocking the older version from working on my stock Wi-Fi Nexus 7, you can’t really believe that this is Verizon’s doing at all.
You’re missing the point, Michael. If Verizon wasn’t preventing Google Wallet in the first place, you would be able to update without issue. The issue you describe with the Nexus 7 is seperate. Bottom line is that Verizon is preventing users from using Google Wallet for no legitimate reason, which then prevents us with older versions of the app from updating. I WANT to be able to use the new version, and I can’t unless I manually pull the APK from another device and move it over. It’s ridiculous.
Think outside the box for a minute. Perhaps it’s Google’s doing that the Verizon model can’t access Wallet from the Play Store.
I feel that it is questionable as to Verizon being the one blocking the app from being downloaded via the Play Store. Remember, legally they cannot. They were caught up in the FCC sting last month for blocking tethering apps, and had to pay a very lofty fine. And I doubt that they would risk even more fines from the FCC just to prevent the Nexus, which is an older phone at this point and not really pushed via sales anymore, from obtaining Wallet.If the carrier was blocking an app, it would say “This app is unavailable on your carrier”. If you try loading up the T-Mobile Visual Voicemail app on a Sprint phone, that is the error you will get, whether that’s by Sprint or by T-Mobile. The same “Device Incompatible” error shows up when you try to buy/install a Tegra-exclusive game on a non-Tegra device. That error is one that is produced by the app developer. In Wallet’s case, that would be Google.
@MikeMcCrary:disqus That’s not thinking outside the box. First, Google has already been in a fight with Verizon regarding ISIS. Verizon originally held up Wallet being put officially on the store for the Toro devices because they had already been in talks with ISIS, and didn’t want to have Wallet interfering with that relationship. Secondly, the tethering shenanigans are a completely different animal; that fine hinged upon the carrier restricting data access to customers who had already paid for the data plans. Literally, trying to make them pay twice for the same service. That’s why you now see “share everything” plans out there.
It is the carrier blocking this, as on the other carriers you do not get the same message. The Toro version is the bastard child of the Nexus line, in that google checks everything and makes sure they work across the line; but Verizon holds up the process because they refuse to release their CDMA proprietary technology to anyone else. That was one reason why the iPhone took so long to come to the network, and why it enjoys good support, because Apple does much the same. You do not see multiple companies involved like you do with Android. Verizon and Apple are very alike in that they keep their technologies very close to their chests. Wallet is not the only app that has this problem either, where it will work on the same device on another network, but not on the Verizon network, Verizon employees like to tell you it’s Google’s fault, but the techies will tell you it’s Verizon and their restrictive policy.
By your logic, what reason would there be for google to not offer wallet to their users only on verizon? And its not just GN, S3 also are blocked from using wallet.
Also, ISIS is being delayed. It probably won’t be available until sometime next year. This isn’t the first delay either. Why would Verizon risk even more fines if their competitor product won’t even be out for quite some time?
errrr no. Google is contractually obligated to do so because verizon is google’s customer. The phone, once branded as a verizon phone becomes the property of verizon and they will tell google to remove what they want google to remove. If you are a car dealership, you buy the cars from the manufacturer and you as the dealership decides what options you want to make available in your inventory to your customers. If your dealership decides not to have XM satellite radio as an option thats not the fault of the manufacturer.
This blows. While Michael may be right about it being Google’s doing, I still won’t be buying a Nexus anything from anyone other than Google themselves.
Don’t forget, Sprint has always treated Nexus devices with respect
True, but they still get them late and the updates aren’t as fast (at least with the Galaxy Nexus)
They have Jelly Bean and Verizon currently doesn’t.
This is true, but overseas and google play unlocked ones got it day one.
T-Mobile does a better job, they never get in the way of Google doing what Google does
I went to T-Mobile for the HD2 from AT&T. As much as I hated AT&T I hated T-Mobile’s lack of coverage and dumbed down roaming.
Why hasn’t someone taken this to the FCC like they did with tethering? Doesn’t this fall under the same wording as the Tethering apps?
“shall not deny, limit, or restrict the ability of their customers to use the devices and applications of their choice on the licensee’s C Block network, subject to narrow exceptions.”
At the end of the day, it was about how the customer accessed the network–and clearly, this is a network/provider issue, as it’s not a technical limitation at all.
Or am I simply wrong on something so obvious that someone will point out to me?
Fully agree.
I have. You should too. You can file a complaint on their website. Also file a complaint with your congressman.
I have received a phone call from Verizon in response and then the wrote a replay to the FCC which they CC’d me on. They claimed the same BS they usually do, but I took the opportunity to prove they where lying about not blocking apps and how the app isn’t usable on the phone. You should all do this. The not blocking apps is easy to prove since the FCC fined them for blocking tethering apps a month ago. The not working on the phone is obviously a lie as well. I would mention how it was possible to download the app before today on the marketplace by tricking the market into believing it isn’t a Verizon phone. I’m wondering if me mentioning that didn’t cause this latest roadblock.
We need to make as big of a stink about this as possible.
Since June, you didn’t even have to trick Google Play. It was available with no restriction.
Is there an already open case I can add my complaint to, or do I have to open an completely new one?
Google should just let it go and embrace Isis. They didn’t see this coming?
Give the carriers a big financial incentive to promote Android phones because the iPhone doesn’t have nfc.
NFC is like a telephone. People will only use it if everyone else has one.
new APK….
GWallet for VZW Nexus
It’s still working on my VZW G’Nex. I just used it to buy groceries.
I think its just people still on the older .apk. I updated to the new one a few days ago and currently I can still use GW.
Anyone who wants the updated APK go here:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/13337926/Wallet_1.5-R79-v5.apk
I just side loaded a new apk from xda. It worked well. I was pretty embarrassed before when I went to pay for slices of pizza and the girl asked me why I was putting my phone on the scanner… and nothing happened :(
Anyway, here’s the new apk https://www.dropbox.com/s/a49pdqcgqb35ady/com.google.android.apps.walletnfcrel-2.apk
I cannot believe how the iPhone gets treated better than Android. I am going iPhone 5, at least everything there works and all carriers f with Android and Google does nothing.
Everything works on iphone 5 except: NFC (Since it doesnt have it), Voice and data at the same time over verizon LTE, flash, multitasking, widgets, minimal mapping app…
isis is going to suck, and verizon has done nothing but bring down google. It’s time to say no nexus to verizon, and do a joint venture with sprint to help expand as big as verizon. It would be a huge middle finger right in verizon’s face.
Meh, Citi can’t provision cards so its not going anywhere anyway.
It uses all credit cards now…
Yes but Citi is the only directly billed card. Other cards its a pass through, everything is billed to the play store. That means it breaks all of your points schemes.
Actually, Google Wallet has been available to unrooted VZW GN users from Google Play for several months. Many have begun using it and even depending on it. This very easily could have caused me personal embarrassment if I hadn’t seen the news and sideloaded a new build.
BTW, the links to sideload are all over the place. Don’t feel the least bit bad for using them. Google could add 5 lines of code and prevent that with its own Play Store APIs. But it doesn’t. That should tell you everything you need to know and give you all the permission you need.
It’s at moments like these that I “almost” support apple and iOS.
i wonder if anyone has tried a lawsuit about this foolishness… if I’m not mistaken, Big Red got spanked for blocking third party tethering apps.
As a Verizon rep, I want to apologize to the android community for this whole jumble of a mess. I understand the troubles we all suffer from these sorta things, and I personally have the Gnex so I know our limitations. I hate how not only as a rep but as a consumer we have a small voice in this. But I always try to tell all of higher ups, along with all the Samsung, LG, Moto, and other reps that come in. Sadly, never seems to go anywhere :/
That’s it with Verizon for me. I’ll be moving to AT&T and a Note 2 soon.
There’s already an updated APK on xda developers that gets it working again…
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1872294&highlight=google+wallet&page=2
i’m not sure where this article went wrong but i have the verizon gnex and my google wallet works just fine on version 1.5-R79-v5. so whoever is having problems just needs to upgrade to this version somehow and all should be well for now! i mean..as good as its ever been with verizon blocking the app at least…
It’s frustrating to own a device that’s designed to be used without imposed limitations, only to still be dealing with carrier imposed BS like this. Carrier meaning YOU Verizon.Two things:
First, with the Nexus developer community Nexus devices have, this may be temporary.
Second, The odds of my jumping ship from LTE to HSPA+ before my contract expires increase each time this crap happens. The difference between LTE and HSPA+ speeds just isn’t worth it.
I cannot believe that there hasn’t been a lawsuit filed over this yet. It’s total BS. The FTC told verizon they couldn’t stop people from using tethering apps but verizon thinks they can do this? There has to be someone who has filed a class action suit.