I’ve finally gotten a smartphone. Figured I could use a portable connector to the internet. Its running android, and on the second day of use I got a ‘package file is invalid’ issue with everything I tried to download from the Google play store.

Googling this issue resulted in 2 solutions. One is to clear the cache and updates of the google play app, and the second involved some version of rooting your Android. I just got this thing. I don’t want to root it yet, and the first option wasn’t working.

The solution

Reset your phone to the factory settings. Wipe out everything. Get back to a clean slate. This has worked for me so far. Its a shitty work-around. Just make sure you back up all your contacts and other data first.