Play Store - Internal app sharing does not work - android

I am trying to upload my app using internal app sharing last 2 days, but no matter what I do, I cant make it work. This is what I did:
In Console I clicked on app -> release -> internal app sharing
I uploaded apk
I added myself into email list both UPLOADERS AND TESTERS (1st tab) and also EMAIL LISTS -> Downloaders (2nd tab)
I even enabled "Anyone you shared the link with can download"
Here is how it looks in the console.
APK was sucessfully uploaded, and then I copied the link and saved it to Google Keep.
Then I try to open the link on my phone, I click on link, it opens webpage displaying this and when I click on "OPEN IN PLAY STORE", it just takes me to Play Store, but there is only official version available (not the internal version I uploaded).
Am I doing anything wrong? I try almost 2 days to make a simply thing like this work, and it is very frustrating...

Nothing we can do right now - Internal app sharing seems to be totally broken at the moment. Great work Google

You need to turn on the option to use Internal App Sharing in the Google Play app on your phone.
Look under the heading How authorized testers turn on internal app sharing
Before authorized testers can download apps using internal app sharing, they need to turn on internal app sharing on their Google Play Store app.
Open the Google Play Store app Google Play.
Tap Menu Menu > Settings.
In the “About” section, tap the Play Store version 7 times.
After the Internal app sharing setting appears, tap the switch to turn on internal app sharing.
Tap Turn on.
(Note that in 4. above, the option may appear under the "User Controls" section)

Here is something I just noticed. In other words, it might not be applicable to your specific case.
I uploaded my app's aab file to "Internal app sharing". This is something I've done many times in the past, so I expected no surprises. After uploading, I sent the link to my phone and opened it from the phone. Google Play showed up, but it was stuck with the spinning wheel forever. Uploaded the aab file again, and stuck again.
Then I tried previous uploads in "Internal app sharing" one at a time. The one from a few weeks ago worked, but none of the more recent ones did. I'm not entirely sure what happened between a few weeks ago and now, but I couldn't think of anything particular that might be the cause of the problem.
Then I uploaded from a different account that is registered as one of the uploaders. The file uploaded from the secondary account worked. I uploaded the same aab file from my primary account, and now it started to work as well. The links that didn't work before still didn't work.
I'm not sure uploading from a different account has anything to do with it, or perhaps it was just a coincidence, but if you are desperate, you might want to try.

Just want to share my 'misunderstanding' about Internal app sharing.
internal app sharing is different with internal testing.
both have different menu email listing too.
internal app sharing on Setup > Internal app sharing :
internal testing on Testing > Internal testing :
In my case, i have setup testers list on internal testing, but not yet in internal app sharing. The link from internal app sharing not work. After added email list on internal app sharing, the link work and can install from it.
hope it's help.

First Method
I have tried both Internal Testing & Internal App Sharing, both Tester link doesn't work for me, getting
'Can't download the app..Try again and if it still doesn't work, see
common ways to fix the problem'
Turn on Internal App Sharing in playstore, i have followed the steps in below link Google Play not updating internal app automatically
Alternalte Method to test Application for both watch and phone
Install 'Wear Installer' app on watch & phone.
Turn on Developer Options in watch.(Settings->About->build number(press four times)).
Turn on Debug over Wifi.(Settings-> Developer Options-> Turn on Debug over Wifi)
Link to install from phone - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.freepoc.wearinstaller&hl=en_IN&gl=US
Open the 'Wear Installer' app on watch, it will show you the IP Address.
Open the 'Wear Installer' app from phone and add the watch IP Address.
Select the watch apk in the phone in Downloads of 'Wear Installer'.
It will start connecting to watch & press 'Allow Debugging from this device' in watch.
Watch will be connected with phone.
enter image description hereClick install in 'Wear Installer' in phone.
Apk will get installed in watch.

I think issue is you open internal app sharing url in google chrome. try to open url with google app with this link https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox

Related

Removing internal testers from Google Play

I have successfully deployed my Android production app on Google Play. I want to remove my testers from internal test so can install and use the production app. When I go into Manage internal testers and click on Remove Users its tells me that it has saved. However when I exit from the page, it tells me that it is not saved and if I then exit and return to the page the Remove Testers button is still active. Also previous testers get the following message when they access Google Play and go to the production app download screen:
You're an internal tester. This app may be un-secure or unstable
If any one could help me to remove this message I would really appreciate it. It looks very unprofessional to some high profile clients who were also app testers previously.
Many thanks
The best way to do this is:
Go to Play Console > Testing > Internal Testing.
Under the "Testers" tab scroll to the bottom and you should see this:
Tap on the "Copy link" button. This will copy the Internal testing's binary link. Now send this to your internal testers. Once they open this link make they will get the "Leave the program" option (see picture below).
Once they tap this, they will have opted-out of your internal testing list!
p.s. If the "Leave the program" option doesn't appear on the top right of the screen ensure that the tester has selected the correct account if they have multiple accounts added on their Play store app! (see the picture below, its the square on the right side under the overflow menu).
After completing the accepted answer's instructions, your internal tester may still see the message. To fix this, first confirm that the test version of the app is uninstalled from the phone and that the Google Play Store app has been closed completely. After confirmation, have your internal tester go into their phone's Google Play Store app settings. To get there, open the phone's Settings app, click on Apps, then click on Google Play Store in the list. Your internal tester now needs to clear this app's cache. To do this, click on Storage, then click on Clear cache at the bottom of the page.
Now have your tester open the Google Play Store app and install your app the standard way. They should be able to get the production version of the app!

Google Play blank screen loading forever Internal Testing and Public Alpha track

There's no crash in Logcat.
Both releases were created 24 hours ago.
Public Alpha (closed) track
https://photos.app.goo.gl/mm9DKDDyqkfb4Y6S6
Internal Testing track
https://photos.app.goo.gl/wC95MMdhqzCTrSr9A
P.S.: Would have loved to file a bug report but found no appropriate channel.
I managed to fix this by enabling the internal app sharing option on the play store account I wanted to test the app before accessing the link.
Just open your playstore, click on settings, enable developer mode (by tapping seven times on the Play Store Version) and then enable the internal app sharing.
If it doesn't work, you could change the permissions on "Manage testers (on your internal test playstore console)" from "Restrict access to email lists" to "Anyone you shared the link with can download", after accessing the link for the first time you should have access to it even if you switch back to "Restrict access to email lists".
Ok so after trying multiple solutions the only solution which worked for me is-
First you need to open the invite link from your system not from
the phone(for some reason the accept invitation button is not visible on
phone).
Now you need to click the accept invitation button.
Now you need to authenticate and then you can install the app successfully.
In my case I had to explicitly set who can download & install shared apps (in GooglePlay Console). By default no item was selected...
This issue happens when the option on your testers email list hasn't been checked.
Assuming that you already setup your email list:
Navigate to Google Play Console > Setup > Internal app sharing
Also, assuming that you want to restrict access to only your email list:
Check the Restrict access to email lists option
Go to the 'Email lists' tab and check all or specific emails you want to grant access.
Please see screenshots.
What fixed this to me was first joining on the web(copied link and opened from android) and then using the download link

Internal app sharing show downloading error | Error retrieving information from server. DF-DFERH-01

I published my app in internal app sharing. After I shared link to download to myself, but to another account. I turn on internal app sharing in Google Play on my phone. When I click downloading, I catch error -> Error retrieving information from server. DF-DFERH-01
I tried to test in two phones, but with same google account.
There is a step I missed - testers have to opt in to the test program before they can use the shared link, and until they do they get the opaque DF-DFERH-01 error. On the Play Console under Release Management, select App releases. In Internal test track, click Manage. Under Manage Testers click the drop arrow. This opens up a panel, and near the bottom is an opt-in URL. Copy this and send it to testers. They have to click on this link and agree to opt in to the test program. They can then download the current version. After this they can also use internal app sharing links for new builds.
In my case, I was trying to access the internally shared debug app not a production testing app. For this, I was using Internal App Sharing feature. To be able to install and use such apps one's email needs to be added to an email-list(as per the settings we had) otherwise, anyone with the link can install.
Problem
The problem is despite having my email in the list, and email representing a google account I was not able to install it. I faced this error.
Click here to see the Screenshot
Cause
I maintain about 8 google accounts on my mobile and I was logged in to all of them. I realized having multiple accounts is causing the issue.
Solution
Instead of logging out from all the google accounts, I simply created a new user in my mobile and set it up. Then I opted-in to Internal App Sharing in the App store. Then shared the app link via google-keep. Voila, I was able to install it.
In my case I just had to wait ~48 hours and it Just Worked with no other changes.
A few more silly things to consider if you are new to Google Play Console.
You need to make sure to enable Internal App Sharing on Google Play Settings, here is a tutorial for that.
Do not forget to publish your modifications by clicking on publication overview (sorry for the Portuguese language on the pic, but you can find through the icon):
And then publishing it by clicking on the blue button (publish modifications or something like that):
After doing this, try to clean the cache of your play store and remove all updates from play store (after doing this you'll need to enable Internal App Sharing again).
I was able to get rid of the error by clearing the storage of the google play store app then open the play store app again and enabling the internal app feature then opening the internal app sharing link again.
sometimes if that didn't work , restarting the device does the trick!

Android: Internal test app not showing up, but account is showing that its eligble

I uploaded an app to internal testing track to the dev console and added a user.
When I go to the app page through the link, it shows (Internal Beta). But the app version I added isn't there. Even though I got a notification that it had been processed and should be live.
So the test user is succesful, and the app was added. But even though it says I am a beta user it doesn't show any app?
Right so I followed the test link to store, but it turns out you can't do that on your phone as it will just get you to the store app which only shows the live version. You need to follow the link on a desktop and send it to your phone from there...

Android alpha testing "Item not found"

I have published my app for alpha testing, but not able to download it from play store.
I have opened the url "https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.*" and accepted to be a tester and now it shows me "you are a tester". But when I click on the link "download it from the Play Store", it shows me "Item not found" in my test device play store and "requested URL was not found" in desktop browser.
App is in published state for more than 48 hours.
App is published in all countries.
google groups for testers are added, I can see the group in manage testers tab. Tester account is added to the group ( triple checked it)
test device has only one tester account.
I can access the in-app purchases, which means the app is published properly. Google doesn't support draft mode anymore.
I went through some similar posts in stackoverflow, but there is no definite answer. Looks like for some people it resolved automatically and some people are not lucky enough.
If the app is "Published", but when you click in "View in play store" the site (example: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.companyname.appname) show the error:
"We're sorry, the requested URL was not found on this server",
try this:
In "Google Play Console" (https://play.google.com/apps/publish), select your app
goto menu: Release management / App releases
In Aplha, click in the button "Manage Alpha"
Click in "Manage testers" and copy the link "Opt-in URL" (example: https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.companyname.appname)
Send this link to your alpha users, you and the users need to click in "Became a tester" before access the app in PlayStore.
After this, open the link of app in play store again (View in play store) logged with a user from the testers list.
If the url still don't open, try close your browser, or clear the browser cache and try again. The browser store a cache of redirects.
If you are using Chrome, then it caches redirects. To fix it, clear browsing data. More details on this
In my case, the issue was that I wasn't logged to Google with the proper account in Chrome.
I cleared all browsing data, but un-logging from Gmail/Google and re-logging with the proper #gmail.com account would probably have done the trick.
Another thing to check is whether or not Pricing & Distribution -> Only make this application available to my organization is checked. It seems that this doesn't interact well with Alpha- or Beta-only tests, even if your test account is in the given domain. Once I turned this flag off, my beta-only app became visible via the Play Store link from the testing signup page.
In addition to all the great answers here, I just found out that if you did an internal test before the closed (alpha) test, the Play Store may want you to use the internal test URL instead.
So say you have your great app and you released it to the internal test track. You created a list called "Internal Testers" for that track and it all went swimmingly. When you did this, Google Play gives you a URL for those testers of the form https://play.google.com/apps/internaltest/{id}. Your internal testers joined the program using that URL, downloaded the app no problem and the test went through.
You now upgrade to the closed track (alpha testing). You create a new list called "Alpha Testers" with new people in it and you enable your release both for "Internal Testers" and "Alpha Testers" thinking that you should carry over your internal testers to alpha. When you do this, Google Play gives you a URL of the form https://play.google.com/apps/testing/{package}. Your alpha testers can now join the program using that URL and download the app. But your internal testers have to keep using the internal test URL to join the program.
From testing a variety of scenarios, it looks like moving a tester from on list to another doesn't fix the problem.
As far as I can tell the Google Play documentation doesn't mention any of this.
Where you add groups for test - there have a link for tester (something like terms) you need to click this link on each testing device and say "Yes"
After that link apear in market. I wait 3 days before found it : )
For my part it was due to the fact that I sent the link through SMS. It worked when I sent it by email. This link has the form https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.*. This is this link that you have to share by email.
This can be due to a silly mistake where you aren't signed in with the appropriate Google Play account in your device's Google Play Store.
Sign in with the testing gmail account into Google Play and then click on the test-link
For more detail check Item not found
allow access to
Settings -> internal access -> Manage users with download rights later
Settings -> Internal Access -> Testers
and the app link will work
I had this similar issue.In my case, I had multiple testers as CSV and there was an space between multiple users tester.Space was the issue in email address.Bad email address may cause this problem.
Also, make sure the device you are using is among the supported devices for your app. For this, check Release management -> Device catalog on play console.
If this is the problem, expect to see a warning similar to the app is not compatible with your device when you visit play store page via a web browser and Item not found error via play store app.
In my case, I had to make some changes in the Manifest to correct the list of supported devices. So, I replaced below line causing the number of supported devices to be 0:
<uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.camera2.full" />
with:
<uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.camera2.full" android:required="false" />
In your case, Manifest may need a different change of course.
In case someone has tried the several suggestions and has not worked, I want to share another situation I haven't seen listed anywhere else.
Make sure the latest build uploaded is not deactivated. The Play Store console doesn't warn you if, for any reason, the release is made unavailable to your testers. It'll show with a greyed out row, like this:
Check on App releases > Manage, in you track dashboard, that the latest build is Added, not Deactivated.
In my case is Android Studio emulator, I relaunch play store after few minutes googling, then no more such error "Item not found".
In my case the emulator had been started a couple of months ago and perhaps cached something wrong.
I kept receiving BillingClient.BillingResponse.ERROR resulting in this message.
After restarting the emulator it started working again.
Simple way is to use incognito mode. Thats it.

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