How to make aab format support more devices - android

I have an existing app in the play store which is in APK format. I created the next release as .aab. When I uploaded the file, the play console shows the message that the release will stop support for over 1000 devices. How can I reduce this number?
minsdk 19
targetsdk 28
I would also like to mention that I have not edited the build.gradle since the last release. Really appreciate any help.

Related

Upload 32 & 64 APKs in Google Play Console after August 1st

I am aware how to upload multiple apks in Google Play Console as described in this youtube video.
This approach works so far.
However, I have my doubts it won't work anymore after August 1st, since Google Play Console won't accept 32 bit apk anymore and the current process as described in the above link is as follow:
Create Release
Upload 32 bit APK
Save, Review and finally
Start Rollout to Production - I suspect this step won't pass for 32 APK after August 1st
Create Release
Press Retain to keep 32 bit APK
Start, Review and Start Rollout to Production
So my question is - if I would like to keep releasing 32 & 64 APK as alternative of apk bundle (which is Google Play Console preferable but not yet mandatory option), how shall I proceed so I can release 32 APK along with 64 one?
You can upload two APKs in the same release as long as the APK targeting 64-bit has a higher version code than the APK targeting 32-bit (Google Play will complain if you don't do that). All the documentation on this topic can be found at: https://developer.android.com/google/play/publishing/multiple-apks
A simpler alternative is to upload a single Android App Bundle in place of an APK, and Google Play will take care of generating the APKs for each of the native architecture your app supports. The documentation can be found at: https://developer.android.com/platform/technology/app-bundle

Requires Android: Varies with device (Multi APK)

I'm working on an app which is in Beta (no released version in production yet).
I've uploaded a new APK yesterday. When doing that I got a warning as I changed the minSdkVersion from 16 to 19. I made this change on purpose so it was expected.
On the Google Play Console, it now shows that a new APK has been added and the old one has be deactivated, which is what I want.
However, the Play Store now display 'Varies with device' under the 'Requires Android' section of the app information.
So it seems the Store has kept the old version for the people having Android between API 16 and 19, like if I wanted Multiple APK.
How to solve this issue?
EDIT
I've released a new Alpha version to get rid of the old one which was still there and 'shadowed' by the Beta (this Alpha supported Android from API 16), and then promoted it to Beta. So now I have no Alpha, still no app in production, and only one Beta APK with minSdkVersion set to 19.
This Beta is now displayed on the Store page, however both 'Requires Android' and Current version still display 'Varies with device'.
After contacting Google support, here is their answer:
I looked into your matter further and the reason why you can see the
'Varies with device' under 'Requires Android' is because the app is
unreleased.
Please note that if the app is published then the section for
'Requires Android' will be updated with the relevant information.
So I'll see if the values are correctly updated when I'll release the app.

Google play Android App version code conflict?

This is quite strange situation. I have an android app in the market. Current version is 1.5.1 uploaded on 18th June. Google play is also displaying as last production release. This release has version code 25. yesterday I wanted to do another upload with version code 26 but I only saved as draft.
But google play shows me a notification that my release is live in the store
This release had 1.6 as release name but in the store is still 1.5.1. So I wanted to do another release with 1.6. now it tells me that "You need to use a different version code for your APK because you already have one with version code 26". I dont have this release draft also. It doesn't even appear anywhere. it is not also live in the store.
Does anybody have something similar? is it safe to make a new release with code 27 now? because Last release in the market is 25. so I will skip 1 number. will users receive update?
Yes, it's best to go change your version code to 27. Yes, users will receive the update.
If you can't find it, go to the build.gradle and set the version code and name inside the defaultConfig element
defaultConfig {
minSdkVersion 9
targetSdkVersion 19
versionCode 1
versionName "1.0"
}
You can then upload it. Google only checks the gradle file to manage versions. But the users' client devices have no check. They will update it if the option is checked.

Cannot publish updated APK: "Version 20 is not served to any device configuration"

I'm trying to publish a new version of my application in Google Play. When I upload new APK file (app version 22) I can't see the option to publish it in production. I can save it only as a draft. There's a red message (see the screenshot below) saying:
Version 20 is not served to any device configuration: all devices that
might receive version 20 would receive version 22
Situation doesn't get any better when I deactivate APK 20 (2.0).
What am I doing wrong? I can't figure it out.
The problem was very silly. I just didn't save my changes in the dashboard using the Publish now button. So in the end I just didn't deactivate the old version which prevented me from publishing the updated one.
Just publish your changes and you're good to go.

Android APK file: Re-activate older APK file in Google Play Store

I have uploaded two APK files into the Google Play store. One is a newer version and one is an older version. The newer version is the active one since it has a higher versionName and Code. Now I found some bugs in the newer version and I want to delete it from the Play Store and activate the older version. Google Play won't let me deactivate the newer one and activate the older one again, since it has a lower versionName and code.
The problem is that I'm am not the developer and did not build the app. The developer is in another country and it is difficult to get hold of them.
What can I do to reactivate the older version again? I know one solution would be to change the versionName and Code. I only have the apk file, can I change those details in Eclipse with only the apk file and very little experience in eclipse or developing android apps?
Thank You
You can't rebuild a new version of an apk from the apk itself.
Have the app developer do the following:
Rebuild project in its previous state with higher version number (must be higher than all previously submitted versions)
Resubmit
From Google's Android "Developer Console" page:
Note that rollbacks aren’t supported due to the app versioning
requirements of the Android platform. If you need to rollback,
consider launching a previous APK with a new version number. However,
this practice should be used only as a last resort, as users will lose
access to new features and your old app may not be forward-compatible
with your server changes or data formats, so be sure to run alpha and
beta tests of your updates.
A good strategy is, when creating a build, modify the manifest to build say a version 2.0 = 39 AND again 2.05 = 45 and generate these two apks which will obviously do the same thing.
Later, when build 2.01 = 40 is in production and you find an error, you can jump back to the old version by uploading the 2.05 = 45 you created earlier.
You have 5 opportunities to back track while releasing 40, 41, 42, 43 and 44 to go back to earlier functionality!
Do this for each build and you can always go back to an earlier version which has been pre compiled and built but with a higher version number than currently in production.
You will not be able to change the APK file without having the signing certificate.
You should be able to revert to an older version, assuming you didn't change the level of API support.
Presumably, go to the Dev console, select the APK tab, hit the "Advanced Mode" option, deactivate the current version and hit "Reactivate" for the version you want.

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