Earlier this year Google cracked down on devices that were not certified and blacklisted them from accessing the Google Play Store and various core services. This was done to help curb the onslaught of cheap Android phones and tablets from China, as well as custom ROMS. This whole situation also had a tremendous effect on the e-reader industry, since there are tons of players that offer Android E Ink readers and users found out they could not access the Play Store with their new devices. There is now a workaround that fixes Google Play access on all Android e-readers and getting it to work is quite easy!
If you have an e-reader that has Android and shipped with Google Play and you cannot access the store because you receive the error message “Device not Certified by Google,” follow these steps to get it working again.
- Download this app called Device ID and sideload it into your e-reader. You can do this by downloading the APK file to your computer and then plugging your e-reader into your PC via the USB cable. Drag and drop the file to your e-reader. Use whatever file manager that came with your e-reader to access the file and launch it. Some e-readers require you to visit the settings menu, click on security and enable 3rd party app access.
- When Device ID is installed on your e-reader open the app up and pay attention to the second row that is titled Google Service Framework (GSF) and write down the code in NotePad, Word or whatever note taking app you have on your computer.
- Visit this website that Google runs and paste the GSF number in the sole field that is available and click the Register button.
- Your e-reader will now be able to access the Google Play Store once again.
- It is important to note that this tutorial only works with e-readers that run Android and came with Google Play and it doesn’t work. If your Android e-reader did not ship with Google Play, this tutorial will not work for you.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
