The easiest way to add apps to your BOOX eReader tablet

I bought the BOOX e-reader because I wanted to be able to install Android apps freely. Little did I know that navigating the Google Play Store on an E-Ink screen is a real pain. Luckily, I’ve found three ways to install apps faster on your BOOX tablet.

Login to the Play Store if you haven’t already

Some BOOX tablets, including the Tab Ultra C Pro, allow you to log into the Google Play Store without much hassle. Other models are a little less user-friendly. Logging into the Play Store on my BOOX Poke 5, which I bought for a trip a few months ago, was a bit disappointing.

You can find the Play Store activation guide on the BOOX website. But the instructions are relatively simple, so I’ll just give you a quick rundown.

Turn on your BOOX tablet, swipe down from the top right corner of the screen and activate Wi-Fi. Next, open the Apps tab on your Home screen and tap the hamburger menu icon (a circle with three horizontal lines) in the top right corner of the screen. Select Manage Apps, scroll down and tap Enable Google Play. A new option called “GSF ID” will appear on the screen. Click on it and enter your Google account login information.

Activating the Play Store on your BOOX tablet may take a few minutes (or hours). And, if you’re unlucky like me, your BOOX tablet may decide to abandon the login process before you can submit your login details. I had to go through all this nonsense twice to get it to work.

Again, this process is only required on some BOOX tablet models. If the Play Store is already on your home screen and if it allows you to log into your Google account without any obstacles, there’s no reason to fiddle with your tablet’s settings.

Use the Play Store from your computer

After logging into the Play Store on your BOOX tablet, put your tablet down and turn on your computer. Visit the Google Play website and sign in to the Google account associated with your BOOX device.

From here, search the browser’s Play Store for the app you want to send to your BOOX device. Below the application list, you will see an “Install” or “Install on other devices” button. Click this button and Google Play will ask which device you want to install the app on.

See, I told you it was easy. The next time your BOOX tablet connects to the Internet, it will automatically install all the applications that you have sent to it through the Google Play website. To perform a remote installation, your computer and tablet do not need to be on the same network. (If the installation process does not work, you may have disabled background processes in your BOOX tablet’s settings. Reset the settings to normal or open the Play Store to manually start the installation of the application.)

Note that you can complete this remote installation process from your smartphone or tablet browser if you don’t have a computer handy.

Alternatively, open the Manage Applications menu on your BOOX tablet.

Are you using an Android phone? If yes, the Play Store will give you a list of all the Android apps associated with your Google account. You just need to find the correct Play Store menu on your BOOX tablet.

Open the Play Store on your BOOX tablet and tap the profile icon in the top right corner of the screen. From the pop-up menu, select Manage apps and devices. Then click on the “Manage” tab.

You should see a list of all the apps you have installed on your BOOX tablet. That’s great, but we want to see the apps you have installed on another Devices Click the This Device drop-down menu and select Not Installed.

Every app you’ve ever installed on your Android device, be it a smartphone or tablet, will appear on the screen. Scroll down this list, select each app you want to install on your BOOX tablet, and tap the download icon at the top of the screen. (If you’re a longtime Android user, you might want to tap the “Name” filter and select “Recently Updated” before scrolling down, as this will save you from having to scroll through a bunch of outdated, abandoned apps.)

Using two different Google accounts? Try “Share Around” instead.

All Android smartphones and tablets come with a tool called Nearby Sharing. This is an often overlooked feature that makes it easier to wirelessly transfer data between Android devices. You can use the Nearby Share feature to transfer photos, videos, files, and even apps. This is a great option for privacy-conscious people who use a separate Google account on their BOOX tablet.

Open the Play Store on your Android phone and tap your profile icon in the top right corner of the screen. Select “Manage apps and devices” from the pop-up window and you will see the “Share apps” option. Click the “Send” button, select the apps you want to send to your BOOX tablet, and click the blue “Send” arrow.

Now on your BOOX tablet, open the Play Store and go to the same “Manage apps and devices” menu. Click the “Get” button. The BOOX tablet should appear as an option on your smartphone screen. Select it, confirm that your devices display the same code, and click “Receive” on your BOOX tablet.

This is a somewhat cumbersome process, but it is much easier than manually searching for applications on your BOOX tablet.