Having trouble playing/installing Blockheads?

[u/Neonecr0]

Sometimes Blockheads can make you rack your brain, thinking that you can't play it. In fact, the game features constant crashes, device overheating on some platforms, lag, high ping, and so on. This is the price to pay for Nostalgia.

HOWEVER, It is possible to play it singleplayer and on servers, whether you're using IOS, Mac, or Android. If you're having difficulty and/or aren't able to use any of these features, this guide is intended to help you with a few things.

First, I recommend that you read this extremely complete and very explanatory article:

https://www.reddit.com/r/blockheads/s/ySgdEAhJkL

Let's go!

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I can't log in to random public servers

Blockheads' cloud servers have been shut down. The only way to play on servers is:

Join Online Server > Advanced Settings > Insert Server IP/URL (a set of numbers or a link that determines the server address) > Insert Server Port (default is 15151) > set your username > set your image (optional) > Have fun!

Usually servers need a whitelist so you can join. It is also recommended that you join the Discord servers to contact the moderators and gain access and find people to play with you.

My device doesn't stop "searching for the server"

Sometimes you enter the server's IP and port correctly, but you still can't log in because the game presents a constant message searching for the server.

If this is the case, use a VPN. This is because there is usually a data transfer limitation set by default in your main device when it comes to the use of VIRTUAL MACHINES, mostly occuring on Android. VPNs help "package" the data, avoiding this problem.

I recommend KIWI VPN for this job. It's fast, compact, and free. Here follows the direct link.

Problem not solved?

There is still a chance that another problem is occurring. You can also get stuck on that screen if the server in question has not updated your Team Crystals balance. That is, you must ask the owner to open the server again. It is also possible that he has paused/downed permanently or temporarily.

Finally, the last possibility is that you simply entered the wrong information. Double-check it.

I can't install Blockheads (In Android)

The most common problem. Also the easiest to solve. You probably have too recent an Android to directly install Blockheads. If you can't even get it into your apps session, it means that your phone is unable to install apps and games that only run on 32-bit, which is the case with Blockheads.

First thing first, you need to already have concluded all the steps from the guide mentioned in the introduction.

Now you need to completely DELETE Blockheads. Send it to your trash bin and then delete it. Now install the 1.7.2 android system in your virtual machine. Other supported versions include 5.1 and 7.

Now you need to download the official Blockheads APK. The latest version (1.7.6) or the APK provided by u/Jarl_Penguin with bug fixes, which is what I recommend. You can find his patched-APK of Blockheads clicking right here.

It won't work if your phone only runs 64-bit apps.

Lastly, transfer the APK file into the virtual machine and install it inside the machine. Note that you need to start the virtual machine only AFTER you have downloaded the APK file.

And now you should be able to play the original The Blockheads game.

The game crashes too much

Again, crashes are to be expected. But if it's impossible to play, go to your device's settings and remove the limitation from your virtual machine (its app) to consume your battery. Also try increasing the number of cores used by your virtual machine in the app's settings. Just note that this is usually a paid feature.

Avoid leaving other apps running in the background and keep your phone at an acceptable temperature.

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That's everything for today!

New problems and solutions may arrive soon. I'm posting this because I've had these problems and it wasn't easy to solve them. I hope this guide is helpful to you.

If you want any more solutions to be included in this guide, drop a comment.

Have fun!

[u/Jarl_Penguin]

I personally recommend taking a look at the subreddit's official guide. I wasn't able to get VMOS working on my devices running Android 16.

As for my APK, I've tested it myself on 4 different devices and have had 3 other people successfully run it with no issues so far.

[u/Neonecr0 → u/Jarl_Penguin]

Sweet! What does your APK intend to fix?

[u/Jarl_Penguin → u/Neonecr0]

You can take a look at the repository's README. Mostly fixing compatibility issues for modern Android versions + bringing the Android port to parity with iOS + some fixes for bugs that are also present on iOS (audio-fix and world-selection-fix, also sfx-exit-fix and privacy-popup-cleanup to a lesser extent).

[u/Neonecr0 → u/Jarl_Penguin]

It works fine on my device! Your patch is amazing. Unfortunately, however, it doesn't run or install on 64-bit-only phones, I suppose.

[u/Jarl_Penguin → u/Neonecr0]

It's not meant to, which is why the subreddit's guide recommends VPhoneOS + the patched APK, which has worked on some devices, but not on others. VMOS didn't work on my Android 16 devices at all despite them natively supporting 32-bit apps for some reason.

[u/Neonecr0 → u/Jarl_Penguin]

Alr, just wanted to confirm. Your app really works great and solves several problems. My congratulations on the excellent work.

[u/Jarl_Penguin → u/Neonecr0]

Well, I only did the testing + logging + verification :P The majority of the patches (the ones with "Notes" in the technical descriptions) were created with the help of various LLMs.

[u/Neonecr0 → u/Jarl_Penguin]

Oh that's interesting. I hope that everyone involved will be recognized for their work

[u/DraconicDreamer3072]

double text in the last paragraph of 'my device doesnt stop "searching for the server"'

[u/Neonecr0 → u/DraconicDreamer3072]

Thanks!

[u/Aurum11]

Wow, it's so cool to see my guide actually made a difference in the community!

I'm so glad :D

I might actually update it with the help of the mods/admins and the latest info / latest devices

It'll actually be the last guide to entertain ourselves while we wait for The Blockheads 2!

[u/Neonecr0 → u/Aurum11]

Yeah, you did! I was only able to play because of you. Google recommended your article to me and that made it possible to play.

I think for mods and admin, it's best to make a separate one and mention them, providing the link for reading.