You can follow these steps to fix the Unsupported Configuration for Companion error that appears when you launch the Android Wear companion application.
Even though your Android Wear smartwatch will continue to receive notifications, and you can continue to use it with your smartphone, some people are unable to access the companion application on custom ROMs. Just like you see in the image above, trying to open the application results in an error message that talks about your phone being flashed with an unsupported configuration for Android Wear.
Some people say that updating to the latest version of their custom ROM fixed the error, but others have chosen to go down a different route.
Today, I’m going to walk you through how to bypass this error without having to deal with the custom ROM at all. Instead, we simply need to downgrade to an older version of the Android Wear companion application. Reports suggest this started happening with version 2.0, so we’ll be downgrading to version 1.5 in this guide.
Version 2.0 of the companion application might be required once Android Wear 2.0 is released. As of right now though, following these steps allowed me to use the Android Wear companion application again after getting the unsupported configuration error.
Android Wear Fix Unsupported Configuration Error
- Launch the Settings application
- Scroll down and tap on the ‘Security’ option
- Toggle the ‘Unknown Sources’ option on (this can be disabled after you downgrade)
- Download the Android Wear v1.5 APK to your phone
- Uninstall your current version of the Android Wear companion application
- Launch a file manager application of your choice (I prefer Solid Explorer)
- Browse to and tap on the Android Wear v1.5 APK file
- Install the APK file manually
- Launch the newly installed Android Wear v1.5 application
- Tap on the ‘Accept’ button at the bottom right
- Tap the Home button to go back to the Home Screen
Explanation
I’m not sure exactly what part of the custom ROM is triggering this error in the latest version of the Android Wear companion application. Google has been made aware of it, but I haven’t been able to find an official response from them. They most likely know what is causing it, and has done it on purpose so for now we have to come up with a workaround. To start, you’ll need to activate the Unknown Sources toggle within the Settings application.
You’ll find this under the Security section of the Settings application (at least this is where it will be on most phones and tablets) and all you have to do is toggle it on. We need to do this because we’re going to install the Android Wear APK manually since we can only download the newest one from the Play Store. APK Mirror is a reputable Android application repository run by Android Police and they have ways to check and make sure the application hasn’t been tampered with.
One you download this version of Android Wear onto your phone, you’ll then want to uninstall your current version of the Android Wear companion application. With it uninstalled, go ahead and open up your favorite file explorer application. I used to use ES File Explorer, but have since moved onto Solid Explorer. It shouldn’t matter which one you use though, all you want to do is find where you downloaded it and then tap on it.
This should give you the option to launch the APK, and that should open it up in an application installer. From here, you can install the app like you normally would and after it’s been installed, you have the option to toggle the Unknown Sources option back off (once the Android Wear APK has been installed). I understand that some might be worried about leaving this toggled on so you can turn it back off right after the app has been installed manually.
That is all there is to it. You can then launch the newly installed Android Wear application and you should get a prompt about some basic settings. Just tap on the Accept button at the bottom right and you’ll be taken directly into the application like normal. You’ll want to be careful to not update this application from the Play Store because it will bring you back to version 2.0 (or whatever the latest version is) and that will cause the error to pop up again when you try to open it.
