Install Adobe Flash on Nexus 7 & other Jelly Bean devices

How to install Adobe Flash on the Nexus 7 (or other Jelly Bean devices)

Adobe’s Flash Player isn’t officially supported in the newest Android version, 4.1 Jelly Bean. Though the default browser for the Nexus 7 and other Jelly Bean devices is now Chrome, which has built-in Flash support in the desktop versions, this does not apply to mobile devices.

Adobe warned that attempts to install Flash on Jelly Bean devices wouldn’t work, but it looks like the folks at XDA developers found a way to do just that.

Install Adobe Flash Nexus 7

On devices that upgraded to Jelly Bean, such as the Galaxy Nexus, the stock “Browser” app still exists. Users can sideload the Flash APK and enable it via the browser’s settings, then enjoy surfing and viewing media as before.

Devices that come with Jelly Bean pre-installed — Like the Nexus 7 — no longer have the Browser app, just Chrome. And mobile Chrome won’t hook up with Flash even if it’s installed. No problem, because there’s a way to install the Browser app from previous Android versions. That, coupled with sideloading Flash, will get you back to normal. Other browser apps that support plugins should also work.

Since Flash isn’t supported on 4.1 there might be some stability and speed issues. But this is a decent stop-gap measure until the entire web gets HTML5-ified.

Go to XDA Developers for a detailed how-to and APK downloads.

If you already have a browser that supports the Flash plugin, all you need to do is use Paul O’Brien’s Flash Downloader to grab the latest Flash Player APK directly from Adobe’s servers ad install it on your device.

Posted on Wednesday, July 25th, 2012, 11:43 am by K T Bradford | 11 Comments

Bert

How about installing any other browser with flash-upport?
CyberGusa

Googe may add support for Chrome on Android later but none of the others offer Flash support without the Flash Player Plug-In.

However, there are alternatives like developers can still create apps with AIR but those will likely be limited to servicing specific sites and won’t help general browsing.

Adobe does leave it open to those who licensed the Flash Player to continue to update on their own to support devices that Adobe doesn’t.

However, it’s questionable if that will happen outside of one or two… Like RIM still supports Flash for their Playbook OS, who could see it worth the effort.

Mind we’re going to start seeing desktop OS on portable devices soon. MS is coming out with Windows 8/RT and companies like Canonical are going to push Ubuntu to run on Android, essentially for a desktop mode when docked, devices as well as on some laptops as optional Windows alternatives.

So there may not be as much demand for Flash support when we may soon be able to just switch to a desktop OS and get that functionality anyway.
wayne

Argh! It’s hacks like these that won’t let flash die the peaceful death that it deserves. Stop encouraging this behavior and maybe it will finally go away, html5 or not.
Trevor Sutcliffe

If you sideload the latest Firefox .apk as well as the Adobe Flash player .apk you can get a great Flash experience on the Nexus 7 without rooting.
Trevor Sutcliffe

It will go away when web developers stop using it. Until then I will find a way to access flash content on all of my devices.
skid

The same can be said for the opposite direction. Web developers won’t stop using it until users/platforms stop using/supporting it. It seems one side needs to encourage the other.

Too bad that won’t seem to be happening any time soon since there aren’t really any alternatives when it comes to encrypted content which, at least for me, is the majority of the Flash content I view.
Mr. T

Users don’t care whether a site uses Flash, html5, or boogoomoojoomagic. They just want their apps, games, videos, fancy photo galleries, etc. The software used to bring this functionality is irrelevant as long as it’s free (gratis), easy to get, and comes pre-installed on most devices. No one wants to say it openly, but Flash will finally die a quiet death when the online porn industry starts using a different video delivery method. Until then, people will complain about lack of Flash on devices and pretend it’s because they want to play “Bejeweled”.
borya

I’m pretty sure the porn argument has been made countless times when talking about a major driving force in technology which includes Flash. At least in several blogs, their comment sections, forums and even mentioned by a certain CEO.

It’s really unfortunate that neither side is pushing for any kind of change. At least not in large enough numbers. Surprisingly, maybe Adobe’s decision to stop their development of Flash for Android and Linux desktops will help things move along quicker.
aiden9

Flash will die when there is finally something to take its place. For now though there’s nothing, Microsoft has given up on silverlight and html5 is still far off from being ready(and not because of adoption rates, its just been moving at glacier speed).
tom

Having CES and a porn convention near each other isn’t a coincidence!
http://www.facebook.com/nicholas.howard.779 Nicholas Howard

Dolphin browser will work with flash but not the new updated one down load a previous version and it works

How to install Adobe Flash on the Nexus 7 (or other Jelly Bean devices)

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