How does international sign-in adaptation work?

Why adaptation helps

Some PICO apps use headset account components for sign-in. On a China-region headset, an international app may not reach the international account service it expects. Adaptation connects those calls to an account runtime the app can use.

PICO Store Lab processes an APK only after you download it and choose the adapted copy. You open the installed app yourself from the library.

Inspect the downloaded APK

Lab downloads an original PICO APK available to your account and reads its package name, version, entry point, native libraries and account component references. Detection determines whether adaptation is offered. The original APK remains a separate installation choice.

A profile chooses the app-specific changes

Each profile is independently updatable and includes matching rules, priority, adaptation code and a recipe. The general profile has the lowest priority and handles recognized PICO account integrations. A profile made for a particular app has higher priority; Virtual Desktop is one example. Lab selects a profile from those rules.

When an app version changes, Lab still lets you try an existing profile. Before rewriting, the profile checks each target file and byte sequence against its recipe. If they differ, adaptation stops while the original download and installed copy remain available.

Prepare the adapted APK

The general profile routes recognized PICO account components to a runtime packaged with the APK. Dedicated profiles can also handle app-specific startup and integrity logic, as Virtual Desktop does for its managed and native code. Bridge supplies the shared inspection, writing, signing and installation steps.

The adapted copy uses a separate package name and a signature created by Lab on the headset, so it can coexist with the original. Lab checks the prepared APK before handing it to the Android installer.

Update profiles independently

Lab includes the profile publisher’s public certificate. New profiles are signed with a separate publisher key; Lab checks the signature, version and file hash before loading code in its process. Updating a profile does not require reinstalling Lab. Community members can contribute source for review and maintainer publication.