not able to get advertising id in android

Question

I am using below code to get advertising id in android, but its giving following exception.

06-12 12:14:19.034: E/AndroidRuntime(13631): java.lang.RuntimeException: Unable to start activity ComponentInfo{com.authorwjf.amianemulator/com.authorwjf.amianemulator.Main}: java.lang.NullPointerException: Attempt to invoke virtual method 'java.lang.String com.google.android.gms.ads.identifier.AdvertisingIdClient$Info.getId()' on a null object reference

I have added google play service library and meta tag in android manifest file.

I am using below code in activity's oncreate method.

 Info adInfo = null;

    try {
         adInfo = AdvertisingIdClient.getAdvertisingIdInfo(this);
    } catch (IOException e) {

    } catch (GooglePlayServicesNotAvailableException e) {

    } catch (IllegalStateException e) {
        // TODO Auto-generated catch block
        e.printStackTrace();
    } catch (GooglePlayServicesRepairableException e) {
        // TODO Auto-generated catch block
        e.printStackTrace();
    }

    String AdId = adInfo.getId();
    System.out.println("AdId :: "+AdId);

Some doubts ::

1. does genymotion support advertising id?

2. is advertising id available in all the android phones which is using 4.0 and above?

Please help me to get the advertising id.

Solution

You receive this exception because the Google Play Services are not installed on the device (or emulator).

As you can read in the Google Play Services documentation:

Note: Because it is hard to anticipate the state of each device, you must always check for a compatible Google Play services APK before you access Google Play services features.

Reference: https://developers.google.com/android/guides/setup#ensure_devices_have_the_google_play_services_apk

You can check if the Google Play services are installed with isGooglePlayServicesAvailable method, for example:

if(GoogleApiAvailability.getInstance().isGooglePlayServicesAvailable(this) == ConnectionResult.SUCCESS) {
    //Google Play Services are available
} else {
    //Google Play Services are not available, or not updated
}

does genymotion support advertising id?

Yes, but you need to install the Google Play Service manually. See this answer.

is advertising id available in all the android phones which is using 4.0 and above?

No, Google Play Services could be not available.

Comments

[Anjali]

Thanks Mattia...nice explanation it solved my problem....Actually i am looking something that can block my app to run on emulator....I have already tried build no,manufacturer etc to block emulator....but still some hackers are installing it on some emulator/simulator or bypassing through vpn or running some automatic script .....i don't know what they are doing....

[Anjali]

Actually my app is like a offer wall where user can install and run the app and earn the points after some points they can withdraw the money....some users are misusing it and my client is not getting installs of campaign and even though campaign is installed and loosing money....see if you can help me here.....

[Anjali]

I have already posted a question for this but did not get any right response....hope you can help me here....stackoverflow.com/questions/30800289/…