Facebook Home and the HTC First (the first Android smartphone to pre-ship with Facebook Home) are scheduled to hit the stores on April 12th. But, luckily for those who just can’t wait get their hands on Facebook’s new Android shell, there’s a leak of Facebook’s new Shell. In this post we’ll explain how to install those apps on your phone.
Remember that the build itself is a pre-release build from the HTC First ROM. Since it is a pre-release code, don’t expect release level fineness in the apps. Do expect that there might be some bugs that might have been crept in or may be (hope not), the app might just simply not work at all! As we noticed there are some minor graphical glitches. The chat heads didn’t also function smoothly. However, the rest of the ROM still works fine and satisfy your craze for getting your hands on the Facebook Home.
Caution: This tutorial involves modifying/replacing critical system files. In any means BlogZamana shall not be held responsible for any loss of data or brick of device. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK. Though, we have tested the procedure thoroughly, but we can’t guarantee that it will work fine on your device. After all, computer systems are weird. We recommend to take a backup and be ready for a recovery programme before fiddling with your things.
Requirements:
- An Android handset with a resolution not more than 1280×768. This won’t work properly on devices with higher resolutions.
- In order to get Facebook Home experience on Android mobile you need to download these three APK files that include the main Katana Facebook app, the now-integrated-with-your-SMS Orca Messenger app and the Home Launcher Shell app.
- Get the Katana app from here(http://goo.gl/4wPcq).
- Get the Orca Messenger app from here (http://goo.gl/XBMNG).
- Get the Home Launcher Shell from here (http://goo.gl/Wa5sM).
You can completely uninstall your existing Facebook app, and replace them with Facebook Home
Steps:
- If you have a version of the Facebook for Android installed in your system, uninstall it.
- Enable “Install Applications from Unknown Sources” option in Settings if you have not already done so. We are gonna sideload some apps to your system.
- Fire up your favorite file manager and browse to the downloaded files. Install the apks and reboot your phone. You are ready to go live with Facebook home.
If you have Facebook pre-installed, then the steps become more intricate. But don’t worry there is a workaround, but it is more complicated.
After downloading the Facebook Home APKs you will simply need to install them to your device. But before that you need to delete the pre-installed apps that came with your device.
Note: You may require super-user permissions to remove apks from “/system” partition. You may need a rooted device to work with.
Steps for Devices with Pre-Installed Facebook Client:
- Fire up your favourite file manager and find the location of Facebook in your system partition usually /system/app/Facebook.apk or /system/app/Facebook_Client.apk
- Delete the file. But remember to back it up before.
- Reboot your device.
- Go to the play store and install Facebook from the Play Store then and then uninstall it. (Believe me, there’s no other workaround, I agree… It’s just a waste of data)
- Install the downloaded leaked APKs.
- Reboot and you’re now ready to go live with your new Home.
Facebook Home is officially rolling out in the Play Store on 12th. After the release you can uninstall these pre-release ones and upgrade to the finer, release versions. This is only to satisfy your curiosity. But remember, curiosity (may) kills the cat. We’ll not be responsible for any loss of data or brick of device. However, should you fall into a pit, we’re ready to help you. Just leave a comment describing your problem.