Facebook’s new home on Android, Facebook Home, is now available to download. However, it’s currently only supported officially on the HTC One, One X and One X+, and the Samsung Galaxy S III and Note II. We’re sure there are many other Android fans out there who want to try out Facebook Home, so we’re putting together a guide for putting it on pretty much any Android phone.
First of all, you’re going to need to enable installations from unknown sources. To do this, follow these steps;
- Open the Settings app
- Scroll down, select Security
- Tap Unknown sources
- Confirm that you wish to turn this option on
Now you’re able to install apps from places outside the Play Store. Modaco has very kindly created a version of Facebook Home that can be installed no matter your Android device or country, and you can download that here.
First up you’ll need to uninstall any version of the Facebook and Messenger apps from your phone. To do so, follow these steps for each app;
- Open the Settings app
- Scroll down, select Apps, Applications or Manage Applications
- Tap the app you wish to remove
- Tap Uninstall
- Confirm that you want to uninstall the app
Now you need to download patched versions of Facebook, Messenger and Home, which have all been created courtesy of Paul at Modaco. You have the choice of downloading the APK files on a PC and then transferring it onto your Android device to be installed, or visit this page on your mobile device and click the links below to download directly.
Facebook: http://loadbalancing.modaco.com/download.php?file=com.facebook.katana.modaco.apk
Messenger: http://loadbalancing.modaco.com/download.php?file=com.facebook.orca.modaco.apk
Home: http://loadbalancing.modaco.com/download.php?file=com.facebook.home.modaco.apk
We found that it was best to install Facebook and Messenger first, then enable Facebook Home in the Facebook app before installing Home.
To activate Home you have to go into the Facebook app. Tap the menu icon in the top left, select Account, then App Settings. Now scroll right down to the bottom and tick Enable Facebook Home.
Now install the Home app from your Downloads list. Re-open the Facebook and there should be a banner at the top prompting you to finish setup. Select this, then choose how you want to use Home. If you select ‘Home’ then you will be able to only use Facebook Home as a standalone app. Choose ‘Launcher’ and you will be effectively turning your phone into a Facebook phone. It’s your choice! Here’s what your phone will look like when you choose Launcher.
