Unofficial Facebook Home workaround extends device and region compatibility
Facebook Home, the new Facebook-centric Android UI is for now only available for select smartphones in the US, but there is a workaround for that.
Facebook Home was announced a week ago and it is now available on the Google Play store. Clicking on the link in the store tells us that the app isn’t compatible with any of our devices, which has led us to believe that the app isn’t available outside of the US.
As of writing this article, the Facebook Home app is compatible with the HTC One X, HTC One X , Samsung Galaxy S III and the Samsung Galaxy Note II. Support for the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 is expected soon. Facebook Home however isn’t available for users in India.
If you still want access to Facebook Home in an unsupported country, there is a work around for that. According to modaco.com, you need an official device in an unsupported country to start with. The website also explains how to get Facebook Home on an unsupported device as well. You can take a look at the complete workaround – remember, it is unofficial, and the installation and use is to be undertaken at your own risk.
Facebook Home is the app that makes your phone’s UI the hub for all your Facebook feeds and gives you easy access to the social networking content. Cover Feed which takes on your home screen gives you information about what your friends are up to without you launching the Facebook app.
Chat heads appear on the home screen giving you access to your chat on the home screen directly without launching the messaging app. A good thing about the chat head is that it can be accessed without leaving the comfort of a particular app. For example, you could be browsing the internet and a chat head will pop up with your message notification. You can place the chat head anywhere on the edge of the display and flick it to the bottom to get rid of it. We have seen the chat head in action on a Micromax Canvas 2 A110 and the Nexus 4.
The Verge has reported, “The Facebook Home rollout isn’t going very smoothly — some users are unable to load the Google Play link and download the app, but we have successfully downloaded Home and can load the page at this time.”