I'm having trouble getting my app update started. Another program periodically updates the databases from the server, additionally, a new version of the software is imported the same way.
So the issue of importing from the server is already resolved, but I can't create a function that will start the update. It is enough for me to run the file itself and ask for an update.
The file is located in the downloaded location.
This kind of behaviour It's not recommended by Google due to security reasons. (App could be updated without a review by Google Reviewers).
Scenario 1:
If your app, for some reason, needs to be updates before user keeps using it, Google provides a "In-App update" Lib.
Check it out: https://developer.android.com/guide/playcore/in-app-updates
Scenario 2:
Your app is under development and you want to update your app to the testers.
You have two options:
Firebase app distribution: https://firebase.google.com/docs/app-distribution
Testers will be notified when a New version Is release. Firebase will make it easier to them to download the apk/bundle and install it.
Google Play Console test Channel: https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9845334?hl=pt-BR
Your app will be on Google Play, but not public. You'll be able to set authorized testers to download it. When you upload a new version to this channel, testers will be notified and will be able to update it, same way It happens with an app that's in production.
Related
I have an unpublished application in the Play Console. But early this application was published, and some users installed it. Will they receive new updates?
Yes. If you unpublish an app, users who already installed it will continue to receive any updates you might send out.
They won't be able to search for the app if they're trying to do a fresh install, but it will appear in their library.
It even says this right below the publish option:
Note your app will continue to be available to existing users.
If you click "Learn more" you'll see:
When you unpublish an app, existing users can still use your app and receive app updates. Your app won’t be available for new users to find and download on Google Play.
I have a native android app in google play and now I have made a new version of the app with ionic 2 framework.
How to update the app and is it possible to notify the users about the new version of the app?
I quess I have to remove the old one and upload the new one.
This is exactly what you need:
https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/7159011
Because you completely rewrote your app please read this too, the most important part is "Prepare your APK":
https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/113476?hl=en
If you follow these guides existing users will be notified about new version automatically by Google Play Store.
The existing users can download the update from your app listing page on the play store or when they select My apps on the Play store. Also if they have enabled auto update for your app then the update will be downloaded and installed automatically.
More about this here.
and as #Abhishek recommended, if you don't have any code for checking updates in your previous version of app then users will not get notified automatically.
also you don't have to remove the old app to upload the new one, you can deactivate the old app if you want it to no longer served to the user, OR you can retain it if you still want it to be served to the users.
Google play usually updates applications automatically. You just need to add upload APK and click Release. You don't have to remove old APK.
In less than a day or something all users of your application will be notified by Google Play that new version is available and if user configures his phone to install apps automatically, then apk will be installed in background as soon as update will be ready.
Also you can notify your users about new version using PUSH notifications. Of course if your previous release does not contain code to enable PUSHes, then you cannot send such notification.
And one more thing: if you use your previous keys to sign APK then everything is fine and you don't need to do anything with APK at developer console, otherwise you need to rollback application and/or re-publish it.
I'm using android studio. I have developed an app and now I want to upload it to Google Play. I have a license and I have uploaded an app before, but I didn't really know what I was doing at that time.
What I want is to upload my app to Google Play, and then upade it without losing the reviews and rating. How do I do that?
And, what is the best way to force a user to download an update? I am going to upload the app to Google Play and to Amazon Appstore (for android), so a link to Google Play or something similar is maybe not the best solution. I was thinking - a toast message "please update the app". What do you think?
Updating an existing apk on Google Play Store:
1) Go to your Google Play Developer Console
2) Select All applications in that select "Your Application"
3) Select Upload APK.
4) Choose from the Production, Beta, or Alpha channels and select Upload your APK.
It take few hours to publish update. more information about upload, publish, etc.
Forcing users to update: There are three things
1) It is not possible in Google Play Store, unless user have set automatic update on.
2) You can use external library like UpdateChecker, AppUpdater, etc.
3) You can change your application structure in that way that whenever user starts you application internal contents get update. (This is not a feasible option, I guess)
What is KeyStore?
It is used to build singed apk.
Keep your keystore in a secure location. If you lose your keystore, you'll need to publish the app with a new package name and a new key. If you need to do this, you should also unpublish the original app and update its description
Please check out this library, actually it provides what you want with simple approach.
https://android-arsenal.com/details/1/3094
When you publish a new version of your app to the Play Store, you will not lose any of the prior ratings for that app.
You can't force users to update your app. It is fully under their control. Some people may have automatic updates turned on, but for those who do not, they have to choose to receive the update.
Google added this new feature you can add to your app to force in-app update based on if you want the update immediate or flexible
https://developer.android.com/guide/playcore/in-app-updates/kotlin-java
I would like to know if this is possible.
Our users download & install APK from Play market the first time,
and afterward while the application detected that a new version is available, it can auto download & install new APK (using the same signature as original one) from our custom server, even if the allow side-loading setting is unchecked in user's device?
Or we must upload the new update APK on Play market again, and let user manually download & install from market?
thanks.
Use the Google Play Store update mechanism. It's the one and only way to deploy updates.
Some time ago Facebook also tried to implement their own update mechanism for their app and the result was Google temporary removing the app from the Play Store because of that.
If the user has installed the app from Play Store then the updates must come from Play Store only. Otherwise there would be signature mismatch problem.
You need to change the "version code" and "version name" and upload new APKs to the Play Store again.
And user's do not need to manually download updates if they have "automatic updates" enabled.
UPDATE
I saw your last comment and just thought to help.
We want to ensure our user always running the latest version of
application.
Yes, I can understand this requirement. The users who have "automatic updates" enabled (most of the users have) will automatically get the latest version of your app.
And those who don't, will get a notification to choose if they want to update now or postpone it later (may be they don't have enough internet data or time to download app app updates now).
The Trick
I can give you a trick. You can use your custom server to check if the user is currently using the latest version of the app or not. So if any user who is using the outdated version opens your app, the app checks to see that from the server and then prompts the user to update the app immediately. You can also take the user directly to the Play Store to update the app. Simple, isn't it?
Hope it helps.
You have to upload the APK to the Play Store again. Depending no the user's settings he will auto-update the app or manually download the update from the store.
I have an unpublished app on Google Play which I want to update for my existing users, but not let new users download it.
The Google Play documentation seems to be saying that this can be done by simply uploading an updated apk (and not re-publishing the app):
Unpublished Apps
Existing app users will still be able to receive app updates, even if you unpublish your app. If you don't want new users to find and download your app but still want to provide updates to your existing users, set your app to Unpublished in the Developer Console.
https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/113476?hl=en
But it seems unintuitive that an "unpublished" application would work that way. If the documentation is correct, how does Google Play tell the difference between an 'existing' user and a 'new' user?
Just a follow up: pushing an update to the unpublished app does make the update available to existing users only, but the app does not update automatically for these users. They must browse to the app page, where the app will have an "Update" button which can be triggered manually.
(This is just speculation, I'm not affiliated with Google in any way or anything)
The existing user probably has the app associated with the Google account they use to log in to the Play store.
If you look at your own profile in the store, there's a list of all the apps you've ever installed. I'm guessing the update would be available only for people who have your app in their lists, and the app will still be invisible for new users.
Whenever a user that has the app installed wants to update it, he requests an update of the app, it's different from re-installing the app as data from the app (a save from a game, or some saved preferences etc) are kept untouched, google play can easily detect that since it can detect what apps you have installed.