How To: Get More Apps on Your Nokia N900

So you finally got your hands on an N900? But when you go into the Application Manager there are a lot less apps than you thought there would be, right? Well, I’ll show you how to increase the number of apps 10x or more 🙂

I. Enabling Maemo Extras

1. On the phone goto Menu (clicking the top left of the screen, one or two times) then click More and then App. Manager.

2. Click on the title bar to bring up the menu and click on Applications Catalog and wait for them to load.

3. Scroll down and you will see one called Maemo Extras, click it then uncheck the Disabled setting at the bottom and click Save.

3b. If Maemo Extras is not there then add it manually by clicking New then entering the following information in the appropriate fields:

Catalog name: Maemo Extras
Web address: http://repository.maemo.org/extras/
Distribution: fremantle
Components: free non-free

4. You now have access to the apps from the Maemo Community on Maemo.org 🙂

II. Add Maemo Testing Apps

1. On the phone goto Menu (clicking the top left of the screen, one or two times) then click More and then App. Manager.

2. Click on the title bar to bring up the menu and click on Applications Catalog and wait for them to load.

3. Click on New in the bottom right corner.

4. Enter in the following information for the fields:

Application manager –> Application catalogs –> New
Catalog name: Maemo Extras-testing
Web address: http://repository.maemo.org/extras-testing/
Distribution: fremantle
Components: free non-free

Catalog name: Maemo Extras-testing
Web address: http://repository.maemo.org/extras-testing/
Distribution: fremantle
Components: free non-free

5. Now you’ve got even more apps!

III. Add Maemo Developer Testing Apps

1. On the phone goto Menu (clicking the top left of the screen, one or two times) then click More and then App. Manager.

2. Click on the title bar to bring up the menu and click on Applications Catalog and wait for them to load.

3. Click on New in the bottom right corner.

4. Enter in the following information for the fields:

Application manager –> Application catalogs –> New
Catalog name: Maemo Extras-testing
Web address: http://repository.maemo.org/extras-testing/
Distribution: fremantle
Components: free non-free

Catalog name: Maemo Extras-devel
Web address: http://repository.maemo.org/extras-devel/
Distribution: fremantle
Components: free non-free

5. You now have all the beta testing apps and all of the apps from the Maemo Community, enjoy!

Reported Issues:

Issue: Seems to fail reloading the repository.

Solution: Try deleting fremantle from the Distribution field and reload.

59 thoughts on “How To: Get More Apps on Your Nokia N900”

    1. Sp83142,

      Ya, I got that on the 3rd repository a few times during the day today. They work, I just think that they take them down occasionally (for what reason? no clue). So just wait a few hours and try to refresh them. Mine does that too, but then it comes back. The servers are probably just down.

    2. just go to setting then go to internet connections and choose connections and edit the connection shwn to you press next two times after thst click on advance settings disable proxy and enable ip then u will be able to refresh ur repositories I also faced same probs

  1. Yeah. Mine is failing to update the Developer Testing repository.

    Will this hinder me from running/downloading the SNES emulator and NES emulators? I was able to DL teh NES one, but the zips I’m downloading aren’t running when i try to open them. The SNES is just not working for me giving me that error message that its missing (libzeemote & libzeemote-conf).

    1. Uprock415,

      Sometimes the dev repository wont update cause they have taken it down, just try to access it again later today or tomorrow.
      The NES ROMS, try downloading them from a different site, sometimes certain sites don’t have them in the right format etc.
      Read the procedure for getting the SNES emulator on the phone working. Those files can be found in the special SNES repository.
      Good luck!

  2. maemo extra catalogue not working, was working a week ago… ive tried rebooting and deleting and adding it again but doesnt work… any advice?

  3. man i cant belive this worked i was laughing for about 20 mins and the first words out of my mouth when the channel changed was wtf nice work and tnx for takin the time to up this video full of info tnx a lot 😉

  4. Hi, I downloaded the Drnoksnes and Ines but dont know how you put the game files on them? Where do you download the zipfiles and games from ? sorry but I am new to all this
    I got tons more apps on my n900 thanx…..awesome

  5. i keep getting catologs failed to refresh its been two weeks now since i tried what you said but the extras testing and extras devel never worked. they always said failed to refresh. any help would be appreciated.

  6. i added the catalogues but i have a problem
    cant refresh givving me ( 28 no space left on device)
    and when i go to the memory on the settings i have
    25 GBs left on nokia N900
    and 100 MBs left on the memory for installable applications
    how can i let the applications to download on the nokia N900 plz help 🙁

  7. so i added the catalouges, but when i go back, that bar comes up at the bottom saying “Checking for updates, please wait” and nothing happens, the bar doesnt fill up like it did on the video. I have let it sit there for a good 10 minutes and no change, its not frozen because i can just press stop and it stops searching.. WHAT IS GOING ON?

    1. Christofalot,

      You are using an N900 and the repositories go down a lot is what happened lol I used to have that issue all the time with mine. Just wait and it’ll come back.

  8. hello guys

    i need some help i hawe a probleme like i quite messd up my phone, and i decide to hard reset, ewerithing wa fine i followed the steps(thanx for the guidance), but after the application manager is messd up, before all the catalogs working fine but now i got 1 cataloge :maemo.org: wich has got the same webadress like the extras, after i fill the rest off the cataloges like extras testing and developing, its giwe me a error massage like:http//respositori.maemo.org/extrasdists/fremantle/Release.gpg
    could not resolve respository.maemo.org
    and i couldent delete the maemo.org folder
    any idee
    please help
    thanx lot

  9. if i do this.. will the wallpapercreator appear? cuz i dont have it on my application manager.. and i watched ur vid on how to put BG etc.. and i cnt make mine cuz i dont have the WPcreator…

  10. guys i just installed zoutube in ma n900. everythng is good except its not playing video in it rather its showing description of that video.guy please help me .i donno whats gone wong.why it’s not showing video’s

  11. hi there
    when i go to my settings and try to hit my nokia, it comes back to desktp and displays a message

    ‘internal error application settings closed’

    i dont know why that happens, can u please help me out here

    thanks

  12. hey can someone help my tv does not exist on the list to choose from its a Black Diamond 21″ TV – BLD2119N . Is there a possible way to create remote myself or find it somewhere thanks.

  13. hey can someone help my tv does not exist on the list to choose from its a Black Diamond 21″ TV – BLD2119N . Is there a possible way to create remote myself or find it somewhere thanks.

  14. hey can someone help my tv does not exist on the list to choose from its a Black Diamond 21″ TV – BLD2119N . Is there a possible way to create remote myself or find it somewhere thanks.

  15. unlockr … i ve got a prob which could not be solved so far … pls help me out … everytime i try to update i get the following msg in the log n hardly any updates !
    apt-worker: Ignoring version from wrong domain: libsdl-mixer1.2 1:1.2.6-5+ogg+mp3
    apt-worker: /var/lib/apt/lists/repository.maemo.org_extras_dists_fremantle-1.3_free_binary-armel_packages
    ….. and so on … i was asked to flash my phone to global firmware … which i did … along wid the emmc …. and yet i still get the damn msg in the log … please help if you can

  16. you fuckin idiot! all my catalogues is lost an it don’t let me create new catalogues. its just dont save those. damn it!

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