Installing 'old' Android apps

[Andrij]

I've just tried to add Dropbox to my aged Galaxy S3 Mini.  I had it installed once, but deleted it.  Now, the current version is not compatible with my aged device.

Is there are way to access and install an older version of an app?

TIA

[Kim]

If you can find the APK you can probably install it directly, but there's a risk that Dropbox's servers will refuse to talk to it.

[fuaran]

There are other file managers that can connect to Dropbox. eg Ghost Commander, with the Dropbox plugin. Lets you copy files between your phone to Dropbox anyway.
So could try installing that instead.

[Andrij]

If you can find the APK you can probably install it directly, but there's a risk that Dropbox's servers will refuse to talk to it.

After a bit of gewgling (what's an APK?), and lots of breath holding - exacerbated by an aged phone - I now have Dropbox back on my phone.

Thanks, Kim! 

[Cudzoziemiec]

I used a similar tactic (I still don't know what an APK is despite having used it) to reinstall an older version of an app after updates had rendered it incompatible with my phone's venerable version of Android. But I couldn't find a way to stop it updating itself and ceasing to function again.  So that might be something to look out for.

[grams]

What’s the malware risk with installing random APKs off the interwebs?

[Kim]

An APK's just a ZIP file containing the appropriate files and directory structure needed to install an application on Android.  Spiritual relative of the Java JAR file, and functional equivalent of a DEB or RPM file on a Linux system.

It's what the Play Store downloads automagically in order to install an app on your device.  The difference is that by installing one manually you generally have to disable the authentication mechanism that proves it's trustworthy (for "Google think it's probably okay" values of trustworthy).

[Kim]

What’s the malware risk with installing random APKs off the interwebs?

Fairly high.  How much do you trust the place you download it from?  If it's an open-source developer's website, probably okay.  If it's a banner-ad infested ALL TEH BEST RINGTONEZ AND GAMEZ!!! site, not so much.  Archives of APKs for obsolete apps are a useful grey area.

[Greenbank]

They might also have removed some of the 'corporate malware' that was in the original.

[fuaran]

I used a similar tactic (I still don't know what an APK is despite having used it) to reinstall an older version of an app after updates had rendered it incompatible with my phone's venerable version of Android. But I couldn't find a way to stop it updating itself and ceasing to function again.  So that might be something to look out for.

In the Play Store app, you can go to settings and turn off the option for auto-update. That should stop any apps from updating, unless you tell them to.