AT&T has taken it upon themselves to be as annoying as possible to the Android community by preventing users from downloading apps outside of the Android Market. Downloading applications from non-Android Market sources (say, a website, for example) is a feature you’ll find on almost every other Android device, but AT&T wants developers to take responsibility for their applications, and has locked down their Android phones so that they only work with Android Market. The justification is hard to argue with, but can be annoying nonetheless. Luckily, if you have a Dell Streak, there’s a work around to sideload apps without the need to root or use ADB.
Not only is this method for getting non-Android Market apps onto the Dell Streak easy, it’s also reversible. So, if you needed to return the device, AT&T can’t blame you.
Here’s how it works:
- Dial *#*#307#*#* on your Streak. Other than a quick flash on the screen, it will look like nothing has happened.
- Go to your app drawer/program menu and tap a new icon labeled EMList. If the icon is not there, turn off the Streak. It should be there when you turn it on again.
- Scroll to the bottom and tap app_security.
- Tap update unknown resource property to enable it.
You’re done! Now go back to Home, and press Menu. Go to Settings > Applications, and you should now have an “Unknown Sources” check box available to you. This will now allow you to download any app of your choosing directly from a webpage or SD card. If for any reason you want or need to uninstall the EMList, simply go to your dialer and type in the following keys: *#*#308#*#*.
So whether you want to use the SlideMe app store on your Streak, or want to test out some other apps not found in the Market, you now have the option to bypass the Market – and AT&T can’t do a thing about it. For now.
[Via: StreakSmart]