So you tried to download an app from Google Play Market and you got the message “This Item Cannot Be Installed In Your Device’s Country”. Or you probably saw an advertised android app and you just can not seem to find it in the Google Play Market.

This user experience  is quite frequent and it is not restricted to the Android platform. Apple users in Nigeria also have similar stories to share about the Apple app store.

What exactly is the problem here?

Not every app is available for every device or geographical location for varied reasons, bothering on commercial, legal or compatibility reasons. Developers have the ability to target applications to specific mobile devices based on screen size, mobile service provider, or location.

For app restriction based on compatibility reasons, you may do well to let sleeping dogs lie. However, for app restrictions based on geographical location, there is a hack!

Basically, what Google does is to set a filter on Google Play restricting access to certain apps based on the Internet IP you are browsing with. Quite a number of choice apps are not made available to Nigerian residents this way. In fact, most of these select apps are only available to you if you live within the United States.

One quick solution is for you to change the IP address of your Internet service / network provider to the range allocated to the US, that way you can fake that the download is been made from the US. But how easy is this process?

Enter the Android Market Unlocker.

Once installed, the app works a bit like a proxy. It works by enabling proxy access to make your phone identify as a device in the country with the app store you like to access.

NOTE : Your device MUST be rooted before performing this procedure

• Naturally, you would not find this app in the Google Play store, it has long been yanked off. Click here to download it from the “Geek” servers.
• Sideload the app to your  device and install.
• Stop the Google Play Market app from your device settings.
• Launch the Market Unlocker application
• Click on the Settings List tab
• Select any of the listed networks. I chose the first one, T-Mobile
• Press down on it for about 2 seconds, a menu option will pop up
• Select Fake This Provider Now.

Voila! Google Play will now recognize your device as being used from within the USA

You can now easily download all the restricted apps.

Life is Good!

PS

1. You will need to repeat this procedure everytime you reboot your device.

2. To confirm that you can access the US Google Play Market, search for any of these US-only apps; kindle or spotify. If you can not find them, you probably were not successful. Reboot your device and repeat the procedure.