Late last month, Google announced it would block the Play Store and Google Play Services from running on 'uncertified' devices. This was meant to keep OEMs from sideloading the Play Store on devices not approved by Google. The company offered a way for custom ROM users to register their devices, but it was a complicated process, because the registration page didn't actually provide instructions.
Read MoreGoogle is starting to block GApps on 'uncertified' devices, but you can register an exemption for ROMs
Google has always controlled which devices ship with its proprietary GApps—a package that includes such necessities as the Play Store and Google Play Services. Until now, they've even been pretty lenient about allowing custom ROM users to flash the necessary payload on top of their modified OS. Unfortunately, some OEMs used that loophole to their advantage, ignoring Google's CTS certification process while shipping devices with GApps or shamelessly encouraging users to sideload them.
According to XDA Developers, that loophole has now been closed. Google Play Services will soon check the build date for a given system image, and if that date is after March 16th, it will be blocked from completing the sign-in process—though custom ROM users can manually register their devices for an exemption.
Read More[Update: Rolling out] Google finally preparing a fix for Nexus Player remote sleep bug from last November
Since late last November, Nexus Player owners have had the frustrating experience of erratic behavior from the remote. After about 5 to 10 minutes, the remote would seemingly go to sleep. Pressing any button causes the remote to blink for a few seconds, then hopefully reconnect. While not precisely broken, the erratic functionality from the remote has been a point of pain for owners of Google's streaming hockey puck. Finally, Google is preparing to roll out a fix.
Read More[Update: Finally fixed] Nexus Player remote going to sleep randomly and frequently, responding slowly thanks to faulty Play Services update
Not a dull moment passes by in the land of Google product issues. Not long after Google Assistant functionality was added to the Nexus Player, Google's digital media player has begun to put its remote to sleep. Many people are complaining about the problem on Google's Issue Tracker, and the culprit has been revealed to be a Play Services update. It's similar to an issue NVIDIA fixed with SHIELD Experience 6.1 on the SHIELD Android TV.
Read MoreGoogle announces Fast Pair for Android 6.0+ devices, allowing you to connect your Bluetooth devices quickly and easily
Technology is all about making things faster and easier, and that's exactly what the newly-announced Fast Pair by Google aims to do. If you have a device running Android 6.0 Marshmallow or above, your days of fiddling with Bluetooth settings will soon be over (with some select devices).
Read More[Update: Fixed in a recent beta] Latest Google Play Services seems to have broken casting using Android hotspot for WiFi
Around the world, a lot of people rely on their mobile devices as their only point of access to the internet and don't have a WiFi connection or router at home. For many of those people, using a Chromecast would have been impossible if it weren't for one small logical workaround: creating a hotspot with their phone that the Chromecast can connect to. Unfortunately, that workaround is no longer, uhm, working right now and it sounds like the latest Google Play Services is to blame.
Read MoreLOL: Play Services is getting ads in the Play Store with random taglines, including "Be your own Boss, Dreams"
If you've ever set up an Android phone, chances are that you've seen notifications or prompts that say something along the lines of "Xxx app will not run without updating Google Play services." That's because Play services is the backbone of many Google services. But did you know that Play services also serves as a motivator, or that it simultaneously fits into many unrelated app categories?
Read MoreRelease notes for Play Services v11 have been posted with a new API for smooth SMS verification and several significant additions and deprecations
Now that Google is through with its biggest developer conference of the year, it's time to deliver a few updates and fulfill some of the promises made during the event. Some of that is happening through an update to Play services. Google posted the release notes for the update and it includes a lot of additions, both big and small, and a few deprecations.
Read MoreThe Best Of AP
Google says inconsistent Trusted Places behavior is fixed in Play Services v11
Smart lock can be a life saver if you're unlocking your phone constantly, and Trusted Places is one of the most frequently used options. With Trusted Places, you can set locations where your phone will skip the secure lock method, but it hasn't been working so well as of late. Google says that's fixed in the latest version of Play Services, though.
Read MoreGoogle posts list of changes for Play Services 10.2, drops Gingerbread support and improves several APIs
The time has finally come to say a fond farewell to Gingerbread. In a manner of speaking, that is. Back in November, Google announced Play services v10.0 would be the last release to support Android 2.3. In fact, Honeycomb was simultaneously deprecated as the minimum supported version was elevated to API level 14, also known as Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. As Play services v10.2 completes its wide rollout to Android devices, that time has officially come. Google posted a list of changes to Play services v10.2 and featured the news about leaving Gingerbread behind.
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