Android devices in Russia can’t get Chrome updates

According to Russian media kommersant , since Google released the Android Chrome 101 version on May 9, a large number of Russian users have complained in the Google Play application store and social software, saying that their Android devices cannot update the Chrome browser and Android System through the Google Play store.

WebView system components, Chrome on PC and Apple devices are not affected.

People trying to install the latest version of Chrome will get the error “Cannot install Google Chrome”. 

The message advises users to “retry further, and if that doesn’t help, follow the troubleshooting tips.”

Back on May 5, Google announced that it would ban Russian users and developers from downloading or updating paid apps from the Play Store.

But Chrome is free software and is not part of the program. Google also did not make an announcement about the incident, and its official Google play account advised users to “seek solutions from our community discussions”

At present, Russian Android users can only choose the following solutions:

• Keep the current Chrome version (older versions of the browser will be exploited and become less secure over time)
• Download the APK file of the new version of Chrome and install it manually (it is possible to download a file with a virus)
• Use proxy network to change nationality, induce Play Store to provide updates. (It may be recognized by the Play Store and then banned)
• Use another browser (Firefox: warmly welcome)

Statistics from data.ai (formerly App Annie) show that after the release of Chrome 101, the 37,000 reviews left by Russian Google Play users on Chrome pages were all negative one-star reviews.

In comparison, the average rating for the new version of Chrome in the US is 4.73 out of 5.