How to install an application with a cache on Android. How to install applications with Cache? Preparing to install cache for mobile games

Installing gaming applications on devices with operating system Android system is not anything complicated – let’s go to Play Market, find the desired game, click on the install button and wait for the installation to complete. If you need to install a clearly “pirated” toy (read: hacked) with powerful graphics, then the installation process will be different. How to install a game with a cache on Android and what is a cache?

What is cache

All Android applications are supplied as files with the *.apk extension. There are no exceptions to this rule, so you shouldn’t look for applications in other formats - you won’t find them. Installing a program from the Play Market involves downloading and then installing an APK file. Once the installation is complete, you can start launching the application.

The same applies to games for Android - these are standard APK files downloaded from the Play Market or obtained from other sources. The simplest gaming applications are packaged into a single file and posted on various resources. The graphics here are most often two-dimensional, so the volume of installation files is small.

But when we want to run an application with 3D graphics, we may encounter a large amount of it - in some cases it reaches several hundred megabytes. In order to optimize the installation process of gaming applications, developers release small launch APK files and caches that are downloaded by the main application. What does this give?

  • Reducing the load on the Play Market;
  • Easier and faster application updates;
  • Quick introduction of changes to games (this is a plus for developers).

The cache most often contains additional graphics for the game - these are objects, people, cars, routes, maps, buildings, landscape elements of the game world, and much more. Thus, large gaming applications with cool graphics consist of two parts - APK files and cache. First we download and install the APK file, launch the application and wait for the cache to download– after that everything is ready for the full launch of the game. If the developer releases an update, it will only affect the APK or a small part of the cache, which will save user traffic.

How to install games with cache on Android and why is it even needed? If we install games from the Play Market, then we don’t need to worry about anything - after launch, the game will download what it needs on its own. Need to install a pirated, hacked or upgraded toy? Then you need to download the APK file from a third-party source and drain the cache from there. After that, unpack the cache and upload it to the desired folder.

Pirated games do not load cache from official servers or cannot start with the official cache. Therefore, fans of hacked toys install third-party APKs, and then download archives with caches and install them on the system.

How to install games on Android with cache

Now we will look at the practical part of installing games with cache, since we have already dealt with the theory. Let's assume that we have already found suitable game and we want to install it on a smartphone or tablet. At the first stage, you need to download two files:

  • The APK file is the launch file for the game application;
  • A cache file is an archive with files necessary to run the game.

In order to install the APK file of the gaming application, you need to go to “Settings - Security” and check the box next to “Unknown sources”. By doing so, we allow the installation of third-party APK files (this is how pirated and modified games are distributed).

At the next stage, we download the cache file, which we will need to upload to the memory of the smartphone or tablet. Cache size can vary widely. For example, for some toys with sophisticated graphics, its volume is up to 1 GB. Once all the files are ready, we begin the installation. First, launch the installation of the APK file and wait for the procedure to complete.

  • Download the cache directly to your Android device via Wi-Fi or mobile Internet;
  • We fill the cache using a data cable;
  • We copy the cache from the memory card installed in the device.

How to install cache for a game on Android? The most important thing here is to copy the cache to the correct folder. You can find out its name from the instructions for the downloaded application. If there are no instructions, try looking for a suitable folder in system partition, focusing on the name of the developer in the folder name. Once the copying is complete, you can start launching the gaming application.

What happens if the cache is copied to a clearly inappropriate folder? The game simply won't start because its launch file won't be able to find the cache files. All you have to do is find the correct destination folder and write the files necessary for the game into it.

Emerging problems and their solutions

We already know where to install the game cache on Android - in the folder of the corresponding application. But what if for some reason this folder does not exist? This problem can be solved in the following way - launch the game, allow it to download the cache from the Internet. After half a minute, we interrupt the download, go into the file system and see whether the desired folder appears or not. That is, some games create folders for the cache only when downloading it - feel free to upload the previously downloaded cache here and try to launch the game.

Another problem may be the fact that some games store cache in folders that are not visible ordinary users . This is done to protect against the distribution of pirated copies of games. To solve this problem, you need to obtain root rights using the instructions from our website. After this, you will be able to find the desired folder and upload the game cache to it.

Moving around file system With root rights Be careful not to accidentally delete any files or folders - this may result in loss of functionality operating system Android.

Most Android games with rich graphics take up quite a large amount of space (sometimes over 1 GB). There is a limit on the size of a published application, and to bypass it, the developers came up with a cache - game resources that are downloaded separately. We will tell you how to properly install games with cache.

There are several ways to install a cached game on your device. Let's start with the simplest.

Method 1: File manager with built-in archiver

In order to use this method, you do not need to resort to all sorts of tricks - you just need to install the appropriate one. These include, which we will use in the example below.

This method is useful when you downloaded the game directly to your phone and do not want to use a computer.

Method 2: Using PC

This option is suitable for users who pre-download all files onto their computer.


As you can see, it’s also nothing complicated.

Common Mistakes

I moved the cache to the right place, but the game still asks to download it

The first option is that you copied the cache to the wrong location. As a rule, instructions come with the archive, and it states exact location cache for the game it is intended for. At worst, you can use an Internet search.

It is also possible that the archive may be damaged during downloading or incorrect unpacking. Delete the folder resulting from unzipping and unzip the cache again. If nothing has changed, download the archive again.

This is one file in a folder or a whole set of folders with subfolders and other files. Usually developers make a cache so that the APK file with the game itself does not weigh so much. Currently in Google Play You can upload apk files that weigh no more than 100 MB. If more, then developers will have to make a cache. Also, cache is present not only for these reasons, but for a hundred other factors that are convenient for a particular developer.

How to install a game with cache?

There are two types of caches. One of them is a folder with .obb files. It is always unpacked to the following path sdcard/Android/obb. You should simply extract the folder from the downloaded archive and place it in the path that I just indicated.
The second type of cache is the type that is often used in games from GameLoft. If you unpack the archive, go to the folder and do not find .obb files there, then this is definitely the second type and it needs to be unpacked along the path sdcard/Android/data. There are individual cases when caches have to be placed in other places, but this is very rare and this will always be written about in the description

If you had to install a gaming application weighing more than 100 MB on a tablet or smartphone based on the Android operating platform, then you could not help but pay attention to the cache file that came with the game. We will try to understand what it is and how to install cache contents on Android in this publication.

Firstly, it is worth noting that the cache folder for gaming programs on Android is a special archive with elements specifically designed to make working with the application easier. More specifically, this means that if you need to update downloaded software, you will need to install all new the volume is eliminated, and you only need a small file with the “apk” extension.

You can install the file in question on a modern mobile device using one of three methods.

The most widely used method that can help install cached games on Android is to use manual mode. To properly configure the operation of an electronic gadget, first you need to download and install it on your phone file manager"ES Explorer". And then you should follow a few simple steps:

  • from our website we download an organized data structure that is recognized by the computer as a single whole (file). To do this, you need to open any tab from the section called
  • install the application by clicking on the distribution kit (installation file) with the “apk” extension, but refrain from launching the application yourself until everything necessary manipulations will not be completed;
  • then you should launch any file manager, for example ES Explorer;
  • find the Download folder in the window that opens and open the archive with the extension “zip” or “rar” with the name of the downloaded platform;
  • after you get to the storage, a file with the extension “obb” will become available to you - which is the required cache file, now we return to the previous step above so that the archive is viewed in the window;
  • click on the desired archive and hold your finger for a certain period of time;
  • The “Unpack” function will appear, after activating which you will need to select the /Android/obb partition;
  • Once in this section, a folder with the name of the storage and the previously designated file will open in front of you;
  • After the correct sequence of all actions, you can safely enjoy the game.

It is necessary to draw your attention to the fact that for certain game developers, cache files must be placed in separate directories:

Manufacturer software Gameloft provides the directory sdcard/gameloft/games/ for placement, if the toy was downloaded from the Google Play virtual store, you will need to find sdcard/Android/data/;

Great attention should be paid to this point in order to avoid errors during the installation process.

How to install games with cache on Android not in the archive

However, there are situations when the location of the file with the “obb” extension is not available in the archive version, and the user is faced with the question of how to install a game with a cache on Android. This implies a more labor-intensive installation process, but let’s not forget the simple truth - It’s not the gods who burn the pots. Let's perform the following procedure:
  • first we do everything as described above;
  • go to the page from the application that we want to install on Google Play;
  • in the address bar we find the expression located in the interval of the characters “id=” and “&”;
  • select and copy the recognized identification code;
  • connect the file manager and move to /Android/obb;
  • create a new folder with the name of the previously copied identification code;
  • We transfer the cache file that comes with the game application to the folder we created;
  • great, you did it.

How to install games with cache on Android from a computer

The final method is to install the necessary software with support personal computer, which through USB port connected to the phone. All processors have no special differences from those described above. Download the necessary program with files from our website. We unpack the archived cached files on the computer. Then we copy the information from the folder with the “obb” extension to the /Android/obb directory on the phone. And we also copy the installation file into the gadget’s memory and install it by clicking on it with your finger.

Congratulations on your successful completion. Now it becomes clear how you can install games with cache on Android. Installing your favorite gaming application today will not ruin your mood.

Almost all mobile games posted on the Play Market consist of one file with the .apk extension. To download such a program to a smartphone or tablet, just click on the virtual Install button, and further installation will take place in automatic mode. If you want to play a game that has just been released, but it is in the “Paid” section on the Play Market, you can try downloading its hacked version from another Internet resource (for example, from the popular website 4pda). If the required application weighs more than 1 GB, then it may consist of two files - apk and cache. In this case, the installation process will be more complicated. Let's figure out how to install games with cache on Android.

Preparing to install cache for mobile games

The game is divided into two files (executable apk and cache) to more rationally distribute the load on the processor and RAM mobile device. This approach speeds up processing running application and make the gameplay more attractive.

There are several ways to install the game cache on Android:

  • downloading an archive with the necessary data and unpacking it into a specific directory;
  • copying the archive into the gadget's memory and then changing the system hosts file(suitable for running games developed by Gameloft).

Before installing a game with a cache on Android using any of the above methods, you will need to allow your mobile device to work with software downloaded from unverified sources. It would also be a good idea to find out whether the game can run normally on your OS. This is done as follows:

Before downloading a particular game on Android, read in its description whether it is suitable for your OS. When downloading software from the Play Market, the operating system is mobile devices determined automatically. This function is not provided for third-party resources.

Installation procedure for games with cache on Android

First, let's look at the simplest method - how to install a cache for games on Android when it is in the archive. To do this you need:

After rebooting the phone, you can start playing a new toy without any restrictions.

It should be noted that for gaming software from some manufacturers, the cache must be located in a non-standard folder:

  • for Electronic Arts – Android/data/;
  • for Gameloft – gameloft/games/;
  • for Glu – sdcards/glu/.

Installing an unarchived cache

For some games, the cache is not included in the archive, but as a separate file with the .obb extension. In this case, you need to do the following:


Installing games with cache from Gameloft

The developer of computer and mobile games Gameloft sometimes bets on its product additional protection from burglary. It consists of downloading verification files when the program is launched for the first time (verification). And even if Android user I unpacked the archive exactly according to the instructions, the game downloaded from a third-party resource may still not work, since it will not pass verification.

However, there is a way out of this situation. It lies in change system file hosts. Let's consider this case in more detail.

Before installing the cache on Android, you need to unlock Superuser rights on your smartphone, for example, through the KingRoot program, and download ES Explorer. Then install the game and copy the cache to the appropriate folder. How to download the cache was discussed above.

After this we do the following:


Now the game that was previously installed will work bypassing verification, which is what was required to be achieved.

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