Cannot install Kiwix APK if it not coming from the Playstore and downloaded with non-Chrome browsers

[Popolechien]

I'm on Huawei P20 Lite / Android 9.0 and downloading the Kiwix 3.3.4 apk from our repo gives me the following message when I try to open/install it: For your security, your phone is not allowed to install unknown apps from this source.

On both Firefox Focus 8.5.1 and DuckDuckGo 5.59.2 I am then taken to the browser's settings page where I can allow app installs (not just this one but all of them).

On the plus side, Chrome simply asks Do you want to install this application? It does not require any special access

[macgills]

I don't think there is anything we can do here, maybe inform users to use chrome?
Or download on their computer and install using adb? That is for power users only.

[kelson42]

@macgills I kind of agree with you. IMO we should put a README to download.kiwix.org/release/kiwix-android/. This could be then linked from wherever this is needed.

[macgills]

@Popolechien if you allow app installs from your browser does it then work? It is a failure of the feature set of these browsers it sounds like, though there are also OS level protections against installing apps from unknown sources

[Popolechien]

Yep it works no problem once I change browser settings.

[abdulwd]

Is this good to close?

[Popolechien]

@abdulwd yep!

[kelson42]

@abdulwd Yes, there is nothing much we can do here. We have a ticket to better check mimetypes here kiwix/container-images#73.