Download the old version of the VK to the tablet. Installing the old version of VKontakte on Android

Who would have thought that a highly publicized update to the official client of the social network VKontakte would cause such a reaction from users? They are not just unhappy - they are outraged. Literally all the changes were criticized: the left panel transformed into a tabbar, and a camera for stories, and even likes, which from the usual blue turned suddenly red. Even the most restrained state a number of flaws that would be nice to fix in order to return the interface to its former convenience.

1. Disable auto-update of the Vkontakte application on Google Play;
2. Remove the new version of VK;
3. Restore the old VKontakte client.

Disable VK auto-update in Google Play:

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1. Launch the Play Store, go to " Options"by clicking on the corresponding icon (Alternatively, the icon with three horizontal stripes next to the inscription" Google play");
2. Select " Settings"and uncheck the box next to" Auto-update apps"(in some versions of the application, check the box next to" Never").

After these steps, the Vkontakte application installed from Google Play will no longer be able to update automatically, and you can use the usual old version of Vkontakte for Android without worrying that the client interface may change at any time due to the next program update.

Removing the new version of Vkontakte:

• Go to " Settings", further into" Applications", then select a new app that disappointed you" In contact with»And remove it from your Android device.

Restoring the old VK client for Android:

Download and install the previous version of the official client of the VK social network for Android (you can find it by following the link).

Everything. You have returned to your smartphone or tablet the familiar version of the VK application with a convenient interface for you, and it will not go anywhere without your consent. There is no need to be afraid of automatic updates of the VKontakte social network client - you have blocked this opportunity.

The new version of the VKontakte application allowed us to make sure once again that not all the changes conceived as an improvement and increase in the usability of the application lead to these improvements. The tastes, habits and needs of users are highly individual. Fortunately, you can almost always find a way to go back to the old proven version of the program and continue to communicate on the social network (in this case) in the usual conditions.

Information from 10/04/2017: As a result of a change in the VKontakte policy, audio recordings in older versions of the client are no longer available. The official response from VKontakte technical support on this matter: Hello! Music in older versions of the application is disabled at the request of the copyright holders. Please update to the latest version: vk.cc/android. VKontakte support team

How to return the old version of Vkontakte to Android? This question is of interest to many users of the most popular domestic social network today. The new design did not suit every person, so some of them are trying to roll back to the old settings.

Unfortunately, the desired result can be achieved only on various systems running on Android. How can the happy owners of such devices do this? Read below.

Disable updates

There is a simple scheme that answers the question - how to return an old version of VK to a computer running Android OS. The instruction involves the execution of several processes. The first one is to disable auto-update:

• Run the desired application. In this case, the page of the VKontakte social network.
• Go to the settings along the three horizontal points.
• Find the item "Automatic system update" and uncheck it.

Removing a new version of VK

Here, too, everything is quite simple. You just need to use the settings of the computer itself. You need to go to the menu, where the list of installed applications is presented, select VK and click on the "Uninstall" action.

The stage of returning to the old version of VK is completed by downloading the desired version of this application using the Play Market service.

It turns out that answering the question - how to return the old version of VK to the phone - is very simple. Of course, this only applies to mobile devices running on the Android operating system. Unfortunately, it is impossible to repeat this process on stationary equipment.

Vkontakte is the most popular social network in Russia. Its success exceeded all expectations of both those who followed the development and the creators themselves. The social network continues to evolve and improve. And this applies not only to the site, but also to mobile applications. Many changes and innovations noticeably improve the usability and make the social network even better. However, sometimes the changes turn out to be very controversial, which is why they are extremely negatively accepted by users. Often it is the Android mobile application that is affected.

Many users refuse updates because the old version works better without losing its functions, as is the case with the new one. In the official application, the design has already changed several times, convenient functions have disappeared, the ability to normally listen and save music has disappeared, and also a repulsive paid subscription for listening to audio recordings has appeared. Those who do not like such changes write negative reviews, resent and discuss unpleasant changes, while continuing to suffer.

It's much easier to download a version that is outdated but still good. You can fully use it without fear that some functions will disappear or something will not work well. Vkontakte old version on Android allows you to remember how convenient it was once to spend time in VK on Android devices. It is in no way inferior to the latest versions of the official application, despite the fact that it is "old".

Peculiarities

• Old design;
• Full listening to music;
• Full functionality;
• Ability to draw graffiti;
• Very light weight.

You can download the old version completely free of charge. Before that, you need to disable the update of the official application and delete it, forgetting how inconvenient it has become.

As you know, there are dozens of clients on the network for the most popular social network in Eastern Europe, VKontakte. They are practically not inferior to the official VKontakte application, and for the most part, even surpass it. Taking into account the growing interest in them from users, we have selected the best VKontakte clients for Android.


Official client of the social network VKontakte on Android- one of the most popular applications in the Russian segment of Google Play. And this despite the fact that the program was repeatedly removed from the app store due to media content that is distributed by users within the resource. The developers have tried to make the client as close as possible in appearance and functionality to the web version of VKontakte.

Pros:

• almost all VKontakte functions are available;
• sending voice messages;
• sync contacts.

Minuses:

• in-app advertising;
• increased resource intensity;
• possible problems with playing media files.

The application is built on the principles of Material Design: flat structural elements, a side slider menu and a floating button for creating a message or conversation. The main working window after authorization in the application is the news feed, which is formed by the date the entries were created. But you can enable a new algorithm for forming the feed, according to which records will be placed taking into account the interests and preferences of the user.

You shouldn't expect any additional features from the official client. In the application, you can view personal profiles and communities, chat, use graffiti and stickers, post posts, leave comments, repost and, of course, "like".

VKontakte on Android allows you to listen to music in the background and watch videos using the built-in player. True, this is not as convenient as in the browser, but the tracks can be saved in the cache on the device and listened to offline. The only thing that cannot be done in the application is to change or add detailed information about yourself. But this limitation applies to all VKontakte clients.

Of the features of the application, it is worth noting the ability to send voice messages by pressing the microphone icon in dialogs, as well as synchronize social network contacts with those that you have on your phone.

The official client can completely replace the web version of VKontakte. However, the app is not without its drawbacks. Basically, more and more users complain about constant errors in the client's work when playing music and while watching videos. In case you lack the capabilities of the official VKontakte client, try VK Coffee.

VK Coffee for Android is a modification of the official VKontakte application, which expands the client's capabilities. By installing VK Coffee, you will receive multi-account support, "invisibility" mode, no ads, PIN protection and more. In addition, you can download music, change the device ID and fine-tune the VKontakte client.

VK MP3 mod allows you to fine-tune all the VKontakte options. Moreover, special attention is paid to various tweaks of the application interface. The mod also allows you to hide the presence of a user on the network, supports work with multiple accounts, can encrypt correspondence, use inaccessible stickers and much more. A feature of VK MP3 mod is the ability to massively download VKontakte music.

If this is not enough for you, you can use one of the alternative clients for the VKontakte social network.

Perhaps the most famous third-party client on VKontakte is Kate Mobile for Android.

Pros:

• invisible mode;
• advanced interface customization;
• blocking ads;
• the ability to save photos and videos from VKontakte;
• speed of work.

Minuses:

• lack of a built-in video player.

The application differs significantly from other clients in its interface. Instead of the usual side menu, the program has a horizontal bar, familiar to many since Android 4.0, docked at the top of the screen. There are three tabs here: Profile, News and Messages.

Main feature Kate Mobile for Android- a wide variety of functions. This is the ability to almost completely change the appearance of the application, customize the start section and the display of tabs in the main window. In addition, Kate Mobile blocks ads in the feed, can hide online status, leave viewed messages unread and set a pin code to protect the application.

At the end of 2015, due to the ban of record companies from distributing music through VKontakte, Kate Mobile was removed from Google Play. To stay in the app store, developers had to remove this piece of functionality from their program. A similar fate affected other VKontakte clients. At the moment, a version of Kate Mobile Lite has been published on Google Play, in which you cannot listen to music. A fully functional version of this and other applications with the function of playing audio files can be downloaded from Treshbox.

A relatively new alternative client for VKontakte, which has already been liked by many users of the social network.

Pros:

• support for multiple accounts;
• invisible mode;
• changeable themes;
• appearance of the application;
• the ability to listen to music in the full version of the client.

Minuses:

• does not display GIF animation;
• slight slowdown of the interface when scrolling through the tape;
• advertising in the lite version.

Interface Lynt on Android completely made in accordance with the Material Design concept. It is immediately noticeable that the developers tried to pay special attention to the appearance of the application: user and group profiles look great, and information in the news feed is presented in the form of neat cards in the style of Google Now.

We will not dwell on the display of content from VKontakte in detail - all the basic functions of a social network are presented here. An interesting innovation in the latest versions of the application is the appearance of the "Catalog" section. These are hand-selected news publications from public pages and other VKontakte pages, sorted by topic. At the same time, it is not at all necessary to subscribe to these communities, you can simply open any category and read the collection.

Lynt can play videos from VKontakte with a built-in player, but it opens videos from YouTube and other services only in a browser or in a corresponding application. As for music, the situation here is similar to Kate Mobile - a lite-version of the application has been published on Google Play, in which you cannot listen to VKontakte music.

Fully functional version Lynt for Android turns the client into a real media combine. The program not only searches, plays and stores tracks and entire albums in the cache, but also integrates with the Last.fm service, pulling up artist information, recommendations, and more.

Another client for VKontakte with a modern design and familiar interface. In addition to basic functions for accessing a social network, Amberfog offers a "stealth" mode, multi-account support, themes and password protection for the application.

Pros:

• invisible mode;
• user-friendly interface;
• separate section "Birthdays".

Minuses:

• does not update news when opened;
• no music playback support;
• paid features;
• a lot of ads in the free version of the application.

Of all the key features of Amberfog, only stealth mode is available for free. All other features must be purchased individually or all together for $ 3. At the same time, the developers have introduced another option for monetizing their application, which allows you to use all its features for free. These are tasks (invite a friend, install an advertising application, etc.), for the completion of which the user is given coins. These coins can be used to unlock the paid features of Amberfog for 30 days.

Unlike Kate Mobile and Lynt, the creators of Amberfog decided not to look for workarounds and completely ditched music in their app. Therefore, if you are looking for a VKontakte client for listening to music and watching videos, Amberfog will not suit you. In addition, the free version of Amberfog is practically no different from the official client, and in some ways even inferior to it.

Another simple alternative client for VKontakte in a “material” design and with a classic interface. Phoenix in its structure almost completely repeats the official VKontakte application, but at the same time contains several visual elements that make it stand out and look impressive.

Pros:

• support for multiple accounts;
• invisible mode;
• nice design;
• quick response function;
• the ability to play media files;

Minuses:

• you cannot copy the text of the entry;
• there is no way to share the recording in groups.

In general, it is noticeable that the developers were also inspired by the Instagram application - all posts look like compact cards, and some menu items are originally presented in the form of hashtags.

Phoenix is ​​one of the few VKontakte clients that has a quick response function. Moreover, you can reply to the message directly "from the curtain" on devices with Android 4.4.

When it comes to video and music in the app, Phoenix can easily search and play any video using the built-in player. In this case, you can choose the video quality, up to 1080p. It is forbidden to play music in the application for the reasons indicated above. But in their group on VKontakte, the developers share a plugin that removes this limitation. The Phoenix audio player, like the application itself, is minimalistic and quite user-friendly, but it doesn't have any additional features.

Phoenix is ​​free, but there is also a paid version of the app with themes and night mode.

The VKontakte client called Polyglot offers full-functional access to the social network absolutely free of charge, without in-app purchases, advertising and any restrictions.

Pros:

• completely free;
• support for multiple accounts;
• invisible mode;
• design themes;
• lock the application with a password;
• group operations.

Minuses:

• search is poorly implemented;
• you cannot repost a record from your page;
• no access to music and video "VKontakte".

The main advantages of the application are changeable color schemes of menu bars and background for messages, password protection of the application, the ability to save all photos in an album at once, and bulk delete of groups, photos, messages and subscriptions.

Among the standard sections of the menu, you can find an interesting function - "Collections". This is a collection of popular publics sorted by categories. It is possible to create your own collections from your subscriptions.

It is worth noting that of all the clients for VKontakte presented in the article, Polyglot is the only application that displays attachments in messages and dialogues.

Finally, the last and, for some, the most important - music and video in the "Polyglot" application is completely absent.

Eventually

The choice of a client for the VKontakte social network will depend on the purpose for which you plan to use it. If you just want to have access to a social network, view a news feed, friends' profiles, leave comments, share content and at the same time always stay in touch, any application from this article will be enough for you - choose to your taste. If you, like many other users, want to "squeeze" more opportunities from VKontakte, freely listen to music and watch videos, then you should take a closer look at the fully functional versions of Kate Mobile, Lynt or Phoenix, which, among other things, have interesting functions that are not available in the official VKontakte client.

VKontakte is the most popular social network in Russia with a simple and concise design. However, over the past few years, the interface of the app and the main site has undergone significant changes that not all users like. And if the old version of the site has sunk into oblivion irrevocably, then things are much better with the application for the phone: you can always download the previous version and continue using it.

The design of the past VK is simple and laconic. At the same time, there are all the necessary tools for using the social network:

• the ability to write and publish a post;
• managing groups and content in them;
• management of subscriptions;
• sending voice (depending on the old version) and text messages.

The interface language, of course, is Russian. Simplicity and functionality are the motto of the previous version.

Advantages over the new

There are several advantages of the old VK over the updated one:

• the absence of the "History" column on the news page;

• convenient and familiar form of dialogues.

These are the main advantages of the old application, besides the fact that it is simply more familiar and more convenient for many.

Important point: audio is not available in the legacy application.

Unfortunately, installing a previous version will not restore the previous experience when listening to music. The developers simply closed access to the cache from old assemblies. When you try to enter the audio recording, the program will give an error.

You can listen to music only from the updated program. When you try to save mp3 to your device, you will be prompted to install the paid application BOOM, with which you can access audio recordings even if there is no Internet connection.

Thus, free access to audio is open only for listening to music. Saving is available only in a paid program.

Where can I download

Only the updated program is downloaded from the Play Store - there is no opportunity to get any of the previous ones. It's good if you still have the installer version of the old app. Otherwise, the APK will have to be searched on the net.

However, before installing, you need to do a few preparatory steps:

1. Remove the new VK, if installed, and clear the cache.

1. Prevent Play Store from automatically updating apps. Go to the store from Google and swipe from left to right to open the menu.

1. Scroll down until you see Settings. Click on it.

1. In the settings, select "Auto-update applications".

Here the phone will offer a choice of 3 options:

• never, that is, no application will be updated without user intervention;
• always - updates will be installed automatically if the Internet is available;
• only via Wi-Fi - this is to save traffic. Updates with this setting will only occur when the Wi-Fi function is on.

1. We need to select the first item. Otherwise, whatever version we install, it will be updated to the newest one.

After completing all these steps, you can restore the old version and use it safely.

Attention! Be careful about APKs downloaded from the web. Such files can easily carry a virus. Use only trusted sources.

How to install

Go to the Android application menu.

1. To do this, click on the corresponding icon at the bottom of the screen.

1. Find the installer file through the file manager (in this case, the File Commander application is used for this purpose).

1. By default, after downloading, it is located in the "Download" or "Downloads" folder.

1. Click on the corresponding icon to launch the installer.

1. Read the terms and, if agree, click "Next" and "Install".

1. Wait for the installation to complete.

1. After that, you will be offered a choice of two options: immediately launch the application with the "Open" button, or simply complete the installation by "Finish".

1. To find an installed application, click the corresponding button at the bottom of the home screen.

1. Find the icon you want in the list that opens. You can drag it to the home screen for convenience. After clicking on the shortcut, the application will start.

1. Enter your registration details in the appropriate forms.

And click the "Login" button. Ready!

What are the alternatives

Another option to return the old features of the application is to install the Coffee VK modification on it. Here is a list of some of its features:

• listening and downloading music;
• the ability to transfer the cache to another media;
• regulated offline and online modes;
• the ability to read messages without marking them read.

This is just a small part of the functions provided by this modification. True, they do not always work properly on all devices. Developers regularly supplement and improve their product. Whether to use it or not is up to you.

Conclusion

Summing up, we note that although the previous VKontakte is more popular with users, there are no serious reasons to replace them with a new one. After all, the most unpleasant innovation was the lack of the ability to download music. The old version does not fix this problem.

Video

If you still have questions, we suggest watching a video on the topic.