Installing EarnSMS on Android

EarnSMS is installed from our download page, outside the Play Store. Android adds a few extra checks for apps installed this way. This page goes through each message you may see and what to tap.

1.Before you start

• Android 7.0 or newer. Your version is under Settings › About phone.
• About 50 MB of free storage for the download and the installed app.
• Chrome, or Samsung Internet on a Samsung phone. Browsers inside other apps (Telegram, WhatsApp, Instagram) often block or rename the file. If the page opened inside another app, use that app’s menu to open it in Chrome.
• A stable connection. Wi-Fi is best.
• Your registered phone number and your personal download code. Enter both on the download page. The download link you then get works for 10 minutes. After that, enter your number and code again.

2.Downloading is blocked

Chrome warns that the file can harm your device

Samsung Internet shows a warning

Samsung Internet may ask whether you want to download the file, or warn that it could be harmful. Tap Download. If the download still does not start, open the download page in Chrome and try again.

The download does not start or stops

• Wait a few seconds after tapping Download. The progress shows in a notification at the top of the screen.
• Turn off Data Saver: Settings › Network & internet › Data Saver (on Samsung: Settings › Connections › Data usage › Data saver).
• Free some storage. You need about 50 MB.
• Switch to Wi-Fi or move to a place with a better signal, then tap Download again.
• The download link works for 10 minutes. If it has stopped working, enter your phone number and download code on the download page again to get a new link.

Someone sent you the file in a chat or by email

Gmail, Google Drive, WhatsApp and other apps often block app files or refuse to open them. Do not install EarnSMS from a file someone sent you. Download it yourself from earnsms.com/download: you get the latest version, signed by us.

The file is saved as .bin or .zip

Some browsers and download managers rename the file, and Android cannot install it under that name. Delete it and download again with Chrome. The file should be named like EarnSMS-12.apk. If you know how, you can also rename it in your Files app so the name ends in .apk.

Where to find the downloaded file

3.Installing is blocked

Your phone is not allowed to install unknown apps

If the message has no Settings button or you closed it, find the switch yourself. Choose your phone:

Menu names differ a little between versions. On most phones, typing “unknown apps” into the search bar at the top of Settings finds the switch.

Samsung: Auto Blocker stopped the install

Play Protect blocked the app

Xiaomi: a security scan before installing

Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO phones can scan an app before installing it and warn about its permissions or about where it comes from. Wait until the scan has finished, then tap Install anyway or Continue. On some versions you first tick a box saying you understand the risk, or wait a few seconds before the button works.

App not installed

Work profiles and other users

SMS arrive in the phone’s personal profile, so EarnSMS has to be installed there.

• Apps with a small briefcase badge belong to a work profile. Download with the Chrome that has no badge.
• Work profiles are often set up to block apps from outside the Play Store. That cannot be changed on the phone; use the personal profile.
• If several people use the phone, install EarnSMS as the phone’s owner (main user). If another user has a different copy installed, Android says “App not installed”. Remove it for everyone with Settings › Apps › EarnSMS › ⋮ › Uninstall for all users, then install again.

4.The app won’t open or keeps stopping

Play Protect turned the app off or removed it

Play Protect checks installed apps again from time to time and can turn EarnSMS off or remove it. It tells you in a notification. When it asks, choose Keep app.

• If EarnSMS was turned off: open Settings › Apps › EarnSMS and tap Turn on (or Enable). You can also open the Play Store, tap your profile picture, then Play Protect, and allow EarnSMS in the list there.
• If EarnSMS was removed: download and install it again from the download page, then sign in. Your account is kept.

“Restricted setting” when you allow SMS

The permissions EarnSMS asks for

Allow these when the app asks. Without SMS access the app cannot confirm that test messages arrived.

• Receive SMS: Lets the app see a new SMS as it arrives, so it can confirm that a test message reached your phone.
• Read SMS: Part of the same SMS access in Android. The app does not open your inbox or read older messages.
• Phone status: Reads your operator, SIM state and signal so tests go to phones that can receive them. Android may call this "make and manage phone calls"; the app never makes, answers or reads calls.
• Notifications: Shows a short notice while a test is running, and tells you about updates.
• Ignore battery optimisation: Lets the app ask you to allow background activity, so tests are not missed.

The app never asks for your contacts, call log, location, camera, microphone, photos or files, and it never sends SMS from your phone.

Every permission, with what it is for: Which permissions does the app use?

Let it run in the background

Tests arrive at any time of day. If Android puts EarnSMS to sleep, it cannot be woken for a test and the test is missed. Settings › Background in the app shows what still needs to be allowed. On most phones the main switch is Settings › Apps › EarnSMS › Battery › Unrestricted.

Phone cleaner and booster apps can stop EarnSMS too. Leave it out of them.

Notifications are off

EarnSMS shows a short notice while a test is running and tells you about updates. Turn them on in Settings › Apps › EarnSMS › Notifications.

Data Saver is on

With Data Saver on, Android can stop apps from using mobile data in the background, so EarnSMS cannot check in or confirm a test. Turn Data Saver off, or allow EarnSMS to use data in the background: Settings › Apps › EarnSMS › Mobile data (or Data usage), then turn on Background data and Unrestricted data usage.

After Force stop, open the app once

After Force stop, Android does not pass any test notice to EarnSMS until you open it again. Cleaner apps and some phones’ own memory managers can do the same. Open EarnSMS once and it is ready again.

On most phones, swiping EarnSMS away from the recent apps list is fine. On some Xiaomi and Huawei phones it works like Force stop, so open the app again afterwards.

The app closes by itself

Restart the phone, then open EarnSMS. If an update is waiting, install it from the Home screen of the app. If the app still closes, write to support (below) with a screenshot.

5.Updating

Updates arrive inside the app. When a new version is ready, you get a notification and an Update button on the Home screen. Tap it. The download comes from our server, and Android asks you to confirm the installation. You do not need the download page again.

The first update asks you to let EarnSMS install apps. That is the same “Install unknown apps” switch as above, this time for EarnSMS itself: turn on Allow from this source (steps). Play Protect and Auto Blocker can show the same messages as at the first install, and the same steps apply.

Do not uninstall the app to update it. Install the update over the app you have. Uninstalling signs you out and removes the app’s settings and permissions, so you would have to sign in and set everything up again.

If an update fails with “App not installed” or “package conflicts with an existing package”, do not uninstall. An update always installs over the app you have, so contact support on Telegram and we will sort it out.

6.Still stuck

Write to our support team on Telegram, and send these details with your message:

• Your phone brand and model, and your Android version. Both are in Settings › About phone.
• What you tapped, and the exact message you see.
• A screenshot of the message.

Open the support chat

More answers: Help & FAQ.