How to Fix Foursquare Force Close Error on Android

If you have a new Android smartphone and love checking in at places using Foursquare, or other location-seeking apps for that matter, you might have encountered forced closes (or FCs), stating that "Unfortunately, Foursquare has stopped." Sometimes other apps wouldn't want to install on your phone, and you don't know what's the problem since you got it fresh from the factory or have just recently updated it to a new OS version.

While this problem could be caused by a plethora of other issues, it's mainly caused by missing Android system files, namely the com.google.android.maps.jar and com.google.android.maps.xml files. In this post we're going to teach you how to fix Foursquare force close errors. I learned it the hard way since my Cherry Mobile Cosmos X2 also suffered from this issue.

How to Fix Foursquare Force Close Error on Android

Disclaimer: We are not responsible if you brick/break your smartphone during the rooting/repair process. Proceed at your own risk.

Requirements:

Rooted Android smartphone
Root Browser app (free on Google Play Store)
Terminal Emulator app (free on Google Play Store)
google.android.maps files (click to download)

Instructions:

1. Download and install Root Browser and Terminal Emulator from the Google Play Store


2. Download the google.android.maps files above then plug your Android smartphone to your PC. Copy and paste it at your smartphone's root folder (sdcard0)
3. Unplug your smartphone from your PC and run Terminal Emulator (grant permission if it asks)
4. Enter the codes below EXACTLY and IN ORDER at Terminal Emulator, complete with spaces

su
mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
cp /mnt/sdcard/com.google.android.maps.xml /system/etc/permissions/
cp /mnt/sdcard/com.google.android.maps.jar /system/framework/

*If you don't get any message, you have correctly installed the codes above. Otherwise, if you receive any message at all after entering the codes, you haven't inputted the above correctly and exactly. Do it again.

5. Reboot your Android smartphone
6. After rebooting and startup, open Root Browser (grant root permission if it asks)
7. At Root Browser, navigate to the /system/framework/ folder and locate com.google.android.maps.jar. Touch and hold it for a couple of seconds until a dialog box appears. Click permissions and check the boxes as shown below:


*In rooting parlance, the permissions shown above translates to rw-r--r--, with the letters R and W representing Read and Write on checkboxes while the dashes represent uncheck. If there's an E (Execute) check on a given permission on the Owner and Other lines, it will look like rwe-r--r-e.

8. Also do step 7 for the com.google.android.maps.xml file located at the system/etc/permissions/ folder
9. Reboot your Android smartphone
10. Congratulations, you have successfully installed the com.google.android.maps files on your smartphone. This will fix Foursquare force closes and any other location-seeking apps that won't install.

This guide fixed my Foursquare force close error since my Cherry Mobile Cosmos X2 initially lacked the concerned files.