MacroDroid Helper APK

MacroDroidDev

Administrator
Staff member
If your device is running Android 14 or above make sure to read the whole post.

In order to toggle Wifi (and a number of other features) on devices running Android 10+ a new helper file is now required. This helper file is built against an older target SDK allowing it to still invoke the Wifi functionality. It cannot appear on the Play Store since they no longer allow apps built against older SDKs to be uploaded.

The latest version of the MacroDroid Helper APK can be downloaded from the following link:


You may need to long press and click the download link above to get the file to download

Note that you will have to allow installation of APKs from external sources in order to install this APK. You will also need to ignore any warnings about it being built against an old version (that is the whole point). On most new devices Google Play Protect will show this warning. You should click on 'More details' then 'Install anyway'.

This APK replaces all functionality in the older Settings Helper available on the Play Store (so you may also uninstall). It also supports a new option in the system settings action as this may enable some settings which cannot be changed in the main app to be modified by the helper file.

After installation please launch the helper file and grant location permission and disable battery optimization (This is vital for everything to function reliably). You should be prompted for these at app launch but you can also do it via your phone's settings app.

Android 14 specific information

Android 14 prevents installation of any application build against a target SDK less than 23. Unfortunately for all helper file functionality to work it must be built against SDK 21.

The helper file can still be installed via the ADB tool and information regarding this process can be found here:


Why is this needed?

In simple terms because Google is gradually crippling the functionality of Android over time. On Android 10 and above when your app is built to target Android 10 then the set wifi request simply will no longer function. Google thinks users are too dumb to cope with more permissions, so instead of providing an explicit permission for this that apps can request, they take a blanket approach of disabling features that have worked for 10 years on Android "to protect user privacy", breaking 1000s of apps in the process.

API spec is here: https://developer.android.com/reference ... d(boolean)

Bug report/request to remove this limitation is here: https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/128554616 (Please star the issue if you haven't already)

If you are confused how it used to work on Android 10 without the helper then the reason is because the app was previously built to target Android 9, so this restriction didn't apply at that stage. In order to publish updates on the Play Store now all apps must target Android 10.
 
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MacroDroidDev

Administrator
Staff member
Google play protect still identifies malware installed from outside the play store. Ultimately MacroDroid is a long lived app that has been constantly developed by one developer. I have no interest in doing anything other than keeping the app running despite Google's constant crippling of Android functionality.
 

Jacob L

Moderator (Lawsonator)
How can I be 100% sure that this apk file is safe to sideload on my smartphone?
The fact that the app has 5 million downloads should be enough evidence? What about the reviews on the play store. How about you check it with virustotal and tell us the results
 

Jo12345

New member
The fact that the app has 5 million downloads should be enough evidence? What about the reviews on the play store. How about you check it with virustotal and tell us the results
I have the MD app installed from the Play store. I suggest you read my question again to understand that it's about providing evidence of the safety of sideloading the MD Helper apk outside the Play store.
The number of downloads of the app from the Play store is not related to the apk so totally besides my question.
Apparently not even a hash file can be given nor an answer to the point.
Never mind.
 

Dm114

Well-known member
I have the MD app installed from the Play store. I suggest you read my question again to understand that it's about providing evidence of the safety of sideloading the MD Helper apk outside the Play store.
The number of downloads of the app from the Play store is not related to the apk so totally besides my question.
Apparently not even a hash file can be given nor an answer to the point.
Never mind.
Here is the link https://macrodroid.com/helper/
 

SamuelFloden

New member
I've been trying to get this to work.
It seems like some time it works, but most of the time it doesn't disable wifi automatically.
When I look at the log, there is no logging when it doesn't work.
Have downloaded the file from your site, not from Google Play.
I have an Huawei Mate 20 X.
Need help.
 

spile

New member
I have just had a notification on my phone to install the app in order to enable hotspot switching. That is fine but hotspot switching is still working on my OnePlus phone running Android 11. Can I ignore the application if everything is working as is?
 

Jacob L

Moderator (Lawsonator)
I have just had a notification on my phone to install the app in order to enable hotspot switching. That is fine but hotspot switching is still working on my OnePlus phone running Android 11. Can I ignore the application if everything is working as is?
If it is still working then you don't need to bother for now. When MacroDroid updates, don't be shocked if it begins to fail. It is the fault of Google not Jamie. If you don't want the notifications you can create a macro to clear specifically those ones which contain hotspot however, if you then start seeing bugs turn off this macro or visit troubleshooting section under the left hamburger menu from the home screen of MacroDroid.
 

spile

New member
If it is still working then you don't need to bother for now. When MacroDroid updates, don't be shocked if it begins to fail. It is the fault of Google not Jamie. If you don't want the notifications you can create a macro to clear specifically those ones which contain hotspot however, if you then start seeing bugs turn off this macro or visit troubleshooting section under the left hamburger menu from the home screen of MacroDroid.
I've just tried to do that I cannot determine the correct trigger and action to stop the warnings so help would be appreciated.
I am guessing it is a Macrodroid specific trigger for both but I am unable to determine the settings.
 
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