Careless was I when I somehow inadvertently deleted Firefox from my old Google Nexus One, which has Android 2.2. No matter, go to the Google Play/Android market store and download it, right? Not so fast. It turns out as of Jan 2015 Firefox has dropped support for Android 2.2 and ARMV6 devices, and Firefox is no longer available for my Android version. Google Chrome for Android is only available for Android 4 and newer, so not available for me.
Android 2.2 and ARMV6 devices: Effective January 2015, Android 2.2 and ARMV6 devices will no longer receive automatic updates or support for Firefox. To find out which version of Android is on your device, look in your Settings app or see your manufacturer’s information.
source
Frantic I was to find an old version of Firefox. While I did find a couple and they did download, their .APK files did not launch. When I tried to click them I threw a package error. I downloaded a couple of APK installers, which were not even able to see these .APK files. After a long search I found Freeware Lovers, which had Firefox V9, dated Oct 14, 2014. It downloaded and installed correctly. Thanks Freeware Lovers!
While I know that smart phone technology moves quickly, my Nexus One still runs well and for occasional use I would still like it to work. Yes, it is old and not as fast as the newer phones, but it is bought and paid for, and I only need it to browse once in a while. Is this too much to ask?
For Firefox, apparently so. I could not even find an old version on their site to download. When Firefox tries to force me to upgrade my hardware or stop using their product, this makes me upset. They already have the image written and tested, so why not allow others to download and use it. Sometimes we have no other choice for old devices.
I’ll be more careful next time. Once deleted, these apps might be long gone. I should do a backup.
