How Do I Reinstall an App from Ovi Store?

This is a question I had to ask myself when I was trying out @offscr (Offscreen Technologies) Grid Touch v1.5 [1]

Short answer: Do not uninstall any apps on S^3 handsets unless you have Ovi Store open. If you don't, Ovi Store's installed apps database may not update correctly.

UPDATE: Even this method is not always foolproof. Sometimes you just have to try and find a site outside of the Nokia ecosystem to download the .sis installer you need.

Long answer, read on:

I had to uninstall and reinstall the application after a non-repeatable bug prevented the application starting after a phone restart (it was a one-time glitch, and the application is behaving as it should now).

The problem was that after uninstalling Grid Touch and visiting Ovi Store on the N8 to reinstall, the Ovi Store only gave me an option to "Launch". There was no way at all I could download the application again.

Grid Touch is only available through the Ovi Store, so I could not download a .sis installer package and get around the issue that way. Searching for a solution to this issue returned no specific results, so I'm writing this in case anyone else has the same issue.

I suspect Ovi Store saves an "installed applications" database on your device, probably in XML, that keeps track of what applications are installed from the store. The problem is that when you delete an application, the database is not updated. This results in an incorrect installation state to the Nokia Launcher, and when you click Launch in Ovi Store, Nokia Smart Installer can not open the deleted program.

Here are the steps to resolve the issue on the N8. This procedure should work for all Symbian 3 (S^3) devices until @ovibynokia implement a fix to Ovi Store v2.06.00042.

1. Uninstall any applications you need to reinstall from the Installed apps menu.
2. On the Ovi Web interface, delete the applications uninstalled from the phone from the Your Stuff section.
3. On the N8, select Menu Button>Settings>Application Manager>Installed apps.
4. Scroll to the Ovi Store application.
5. Long-tap, and select Uninstall.
6. Wait for the operation to complete.
7. Tap back until you Exit the Settings Menu.
8. On the menu screen, tap the Store icon.
9. Install the Ovi Store again.
10. Start Ovi Store on the device.

You should now be able to reinstall the applications that you uninstalled. 

[1] Grid Touch v1.5 has been rebuilt using Qt, and it now has Menu Button integration. Providing you keep the app open in the background, the menu button opens the application and you have instant access to all programs on your device. The best thing about Grid Touch is that it is free to download and use.

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