[Update: Fixed] Google Messages incompatibility issue with some Nokia phones comes to light

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on October 9, 2019) follows:

Nokia was this time around beaten to the latest October 2019 security updates by Samsung. The Korean company has already rolled out the new security patch to several devices like the Galaxy S10, Galaxy Note 9, Tab S4, Galaxy A50, Galaxy J4+, and so on.

Perhaps the delay is what some users of several Nokia phones actually need in order to get one annoying issue that seems to have been brought up by the update to September security patches.

Reported through the official Nokia and Google support forums, it seems some users of the Nokia 1 have had trouble accessing and actually using the pre-installed SMS app from Google – the Messages app.

I really hope Nokia has some kind of explanation for this as Google are about as helpful as a chocolate teapot. Not only has the play store uninstalled all updates for Google Messages app, it now no longer even appears in play store for me. Going on play store on pc it says Nokia 1 is incompatible.

It looks like you are not alone. Another user mentioned the same for his Nokia 7.1. Probably a server-side push is causing some incompatibility issues. I just checked on my Nokia 8.1, and the outcome is the same – no longer compatible. I believe we should wait for an update from Google. It won’t be an issue with Nokia/HMD, instead some config issue at Google.

As you can see from the statement above, the Google Messages incompatibility bug isn’t just affecting Nokia 1 users, but also others on the Nokia 7.1 and Nokia 8.1. The issue has also been reported by a handful of Nokia 2 users. Below is a screengrab of the Play Store error message.

From the various reports, it seems the issue started showing up only after the affected units switched to the most recent software update from Nokia that brought September security patches.

One affected user provided more insight into the issue via a screenshot showing other devices connected to the Play Store through the same account having no issues with Google Messages but for the Nokia 1.

Went on chrome and out of 4 devices linked to my account only 1 is incompatible – Nokia 1. Surely there is no reason to make a default system app all of a sudden incompatible without no reason? Never seen anything like this before.

With some more digging, it is now emerging that the recent September security update for Nokia devices might have included a version of the Google Messages app designed to work on Android 10 (Q) and not Android Pie.

Considering that the Nokia 1, Nokia 2, Nokia 7.1, Nokia 8.1 and all other affected Nokia devices are still running Android Pie, it’s strange that such a change would be applied to the Messages app.

Finally figured out what is wrong. I’ve uninstalled updates again to revert back to factory version of app. I’ve had a look in the manifest and it says the version of Google Messages I have was designed for Android Q. As I do not have that on my phone (I have Android Pie), the Play Store will never find me a compatible app as my OS does not coincide with what the app thinks I have.

The incompatibility issue seems to be affecting users of the beta version of the Google Messages app on Nokia phones. But not even opting out of the beta seems to be the solution here.

I have actually opted out of the beta for Google messages and now I cannot even find the app on the play store. If I search for it, it doesn’t find it and it doesn’t even appear in list of apps in Google LLC. I have Nokia 1 which is an Android Go Edition.

On the brighter side, since the beta version often receives updates, we hope that the issue will be addressed pretty soon. Until then, you may have to do a complete factory reset in order to restore the working version of the Messages app on your affected Nokia phones.

But before going down this factory reset route, you may want to try downloading the Pie-based APK version of the Google Messages app from APKMirror or simply grab another SMS app from the Google Play Store and get going!

In a tweet, Nokia has revealed that Google has now fixed the Messages incompatibility issue on various Nokia phones.

Hi @Nokiapoweruser, thank you for your message. Google has now updated the messaging app, please check on your phone.
Source

Something several people can already confirm.

How are things at your end?

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