Is there any way to Set up my application for beta testing without sending it to production?
I set up the app on the Dev console,it's the first version, and want to test it with a few individuals. I picked Alpha testing, uploaded the APK and supplied their gmail accounts but still haven't received the emails, which were 10+ hours ago.
Just in case somebody comes across this. You cannot put an APK up for Testers until you 'Publish' the app. This means putting in all the screenshots, doing the ratings... etc. It should be noted it doesn't put the App on the store.
Have any of your testers tried the opt-in URL? Should be something like https://play.google.com/apps/testing/{package-name}.
Related
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The app is available. It just took some time to appear. The reason why I saw it as beta is because my Google account was used for alpha tests.
If you have the same problem, just delete your account from the testers and wait some hours.
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My team and I are working on a mobile game. We tested it in alpha mode and decided to launch it today. From the alpha version, we asked Google to release the app in production mode. The console tells us the app is totally sent but we can't find it on our mobile stores and when I want to see the app on the web store, it shows me the app is in Beta release.
Can someone tell me why we get this ? We didn't ask to pass in beta mode.
Do we just need to wait a bit ?
I see your app on the Play Store. I searched for it and it shows up as https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=be.barracudapps.tradeontube. So it is published and others can find it. But do you know that your app targets Android 5.0 and up?
Before I post my app on Google Play, I would like some friends test it to me, so if there's anything to change, I could do it BEFORE post it. How can I do that? My colleagues told me I should use a link from apk.
Remember: I don't want to use a cellphone as an emulator. I want people from other countries to test it for me (it's a multilingual app)
There are three ways to upload your apk on Google play store.
Upload your apk in Alpha testing, where you can create a link for your apk and can manually share this link to the people you want.
Upload your apk in Beta testing, Here your apk will be uploaded on play store for testing, where everyone can see your application and test it. Here anyone can provide feedback.
Upload your apk in Production, Here you finally upload your apk.
This is a short description if you want to know more, follow this link
Difference between alpha and beta testing
In your case, I think you should upload your apk in beta testing.
One way to share your app is to upload it in a cloud. Any cloud as long as your friends can access it. Send the link to them or you attach the apk on an e-mail and send it to them.
I have been trying for several weeks now to get the Google Alpha / Beta testing functionality on the Play Store to work with no success. As far as I can tell I have followed the process but clearly something is not working from my side. I hope someone on SO can tell me what I'm doing wrong.
I have created both an Apha and Beta testing community.
I have added the Beta testing community to the Beta testing section that relates to using Google+ communities to test. My Beta testing community does have members added.
Although I have an Alpha testing community, none of the Alpha testing methods are currently enabled.
On my test device, using a Google account that is a member of my Beta testing community, I only ever see the version of my app that is currently in Prod. I have spent days waiting just in case it takes a couple of days to show up (at least a week which I assume should be long enough).
I need to test the release version because I am trying to test some inapp billing functionality that I had to change due to security warnings from Google relating to my current Prod version.
BUT: if I load the release version of the app directly (instead of downloading from the Play Store) I can see that it is seeing this account as a "test account" because when I test the inapp billing I get the correct message telling me that the subscription will renew every day but I won't be charged. However the Beta version of the app never appears in the "BETA" tab in the Play Store.
I have noticed something "strange" (possibly) in the developer console though: When I click on the "Beta Testing" tab it shows 10399 supported devices and 0 excluded devices for the Beta app. However if I click on the line of the Beta app where you can promote the app etc, the details that are then displayed indicate 0 supported Android devices. Why would this be? This seems to be conflicting information on the console.
Note: The current Prod version of my app was developed using Eclipse. I have recently converted to Android Studio and this is my first upload using Android Studio.
Where else should I be looking to get my app to appear in the Play Store
Thanks
I was just setting up the Beta testing release for the first time and couldn't make the app visible in Play Store. Found the reason in Play Console Help:
After publishing an alpha/beta app for the first time, it may take a few hours for your test link to be available to testers. If you publish additional changes, they may take several hours to be available for testers.
After about 35 minutes the app was published.
As this might not be the issue mentioned in original question, it might help someone.
In my case I had published the Beta version and had created the testers but not linked them together. What I had to do was:
Go to manage releases
Choose a testing method - Closed Beta Testing
Then when testers list shows, make active the group of testers you would like to test the app.
Save
Get Opt-in URL link and paste it in a new tab (you should be logged in to google)
Then click at the "Become a Tester" button
You should now be a tester and ready to go.
#Important If you still can not find the app by searching in Play Store just copy the "Opt-in URL" into your tester phone's browser and you should see the app.
Hope it helps
What solved this problem for me was clearing my Play Store app data.
In my case, I had already been on the testers list for days, already accepted the invitation link, and already gotten testing working on other devices. But, the Play Store still wouldn't show the beta version of the app on this particular device.
I went to "App info" for the Google Play Store app, "Memory", then "Clear data". Then I re-opened and was able to see the beta test app.
Disclaimer: Use with caution. Clearing your app data may remove some important information. I haven't personally experienced any problems with it, but that doesn't mean you won't.
The suggestion from #Edgehog to use Open Testing solved my problem regarding being able to see my app in the Beta tab of the Play Store.
I have not found a reason yet why the closed beta testing (using emails or groups/communities) would not work.
Make sure you also check this answer
browser cache
an actual active "testing track"
We are having the same problem in my company. Currently we are investigating possibility that maybe first install on beta channel installs prod version and updates to beta channel version when first app update is released on beta channel. It is weird workflow but the comment on Play Store "Future updates will include beta versions" supports this
There are a couple of reasons why this might happen but admittedly we did not 100% confirm this.
1) One reason is that you are viewing Google Play under another account that is not on the beta tester list.
2) The other might be an issue (or feature) with the release management. Added a user to an existing closed beta release list. Changing a list does not activate or force a Save for the "Managed testers" section. After we edited another field (e.g. feedback channel) then the Save button became active and we clicked save. This might only then propagate changes. We cannot 100% confirm this was the issue we were facing but our experience points to this.
I created my first Android app and wanted to let some users take part at the new Google beta testing feature. Unfortunately my app got published as a production APK and is visible to everyone now. That was not my intention, because my app is far from being released.
If I unpublish my app it also get's inaccessible for the beta testing users. So I have to keep it published to run the beta test.
What are my possibilities to make the best of this situation?
Using a dummy app as production APK?
Keep it unpublished and start with a new package name all over again?
Easiest way would be to delete the published app, but Google says NO.
You can put your Google Play Developer Console into "Advanced Mode" by clicking the button in the top right corner. Then you can activate/deactivate APKs as necessary, and upload APKs specifically for beta testers only. You do not need to change the package name.
After filling in all the details, In your developer console dont upload your APK to the production tab, only upload it in the Beta tab and click publish. Now wait for it to get published and find the playstore link which you can find after clicking the "Manage list of testers" link which is under the "Beta testers". Share this link with your beta users.
Even I made similar mistake before and then unpublished my app. Started again the publish process with different package name as Google remembers your app by the package definition. You won't be able to delete an unpublished app. That needs to be unique. When you create your app, don't upload the apk first, just prepare store listing. Once done, you will see all the panes, production, beta, alpha under APK menu. hope this helps.
Provided the constraints you have, I guess your best option is to set the filter of the APK to no devices if allowed; if not, set it to a single device (one you figure there are almost none in the market).
Additionally, you can change your publishing options for no country (or, again, to a single small country), although I think that might impact the beta testers as well...
I've just found myself in a similar situation (app was published to production prematurely, and I need to do some beta testing). Jorge's answer got me thinking. I found an option under "Pricing and Distribution" which allowed me to restrict distribution to my organization.
I'm a developer and i was thrilled when I was watching Google IO 2013 and learned about the new Beta testing feature. So I created a Google+ community and a google group and placed the testers in there (me included).
All we get (the developers and testers) when we visit the https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.package.stuff
is this:
Is there any trick I am missing? I would really like to use this feature.
I know there are alternatives like https://testflightapp.com/ but I'd rather keep my app under this environment where I can "promote" the Beta apk to the Production phase and so on.
I had this same issue. The reason the link is not working is because the app must be published before the link will be active. I repeat the app must be published, this does not mean there must be an APK in production. On the top right of your applications developer console page there is a drop down menu that allows you to publish the app. That link will become active immediately and your app will be available in a few hours to your testers on the Play Store.
First of all you need to create or have a Google+ community.
The process is:
Create a new Google + community. It's required to have testers through Developer Console.
Register this community in Google Play Developer Console
Invite your beta testers to this community.
Wait 8-24 hours before sharing the link
Share the link with your testers
Verify that your app is published for Beta Testing
If everything is right, the link should show something like:
I'm having the same problem, the link simply doesn't work, 36 hours after publishing. Might as well not even provide the alpha/beta features if they cripple the developer's ability to move fast...
Anyway, I'm sharing some information provided to me by Google Support, hoping it'll be helpful:
Ensure that you have added a valid Google Group email or Google+ Community URL to the Developer Console and that you are included in the group/community. Once the group/community has been added, the name of the group will display in the “Manage list of testers” link in the testing tab. (Please note when adding a Google Group you need to enter the email address and not the URL).
If you wish to use a Google Group in a Google Apps domain, the Developer Console and Private Channel must be enabled for your domain in the Google Apps Control Panel. More Private Channel info: http://goo.gl/DLGNe
An app must be published for several hours before the opt-in link will become available to testers.
Currently, testers must have only one account on their device. Devices with more than one account will receive the production version of your app. (Please note this requirement is temporary. Stay tuned for updates).
2015 and the alpha/beta testing is, at best, 50% working. About 50% (23 of our 60+) beta tester never gain access to the app via the provided link. All the others have no trouble at all installing the beta app and receiving updates. No rhyme or reason. Single account on their device, some with gmail accounts, some with private email. It's a mixed bag of who gets access and who doesn't. In all cases, once they accept the invitation to join the group they have full access to the group. But they get a 404 when trying access the app. Not worth the trouble. Our fix is to give the testers access to to our private server and pass out the beta versions that way. Updates aren't automagic, but the testers can get the app hassle free
I had the same problem and alpha testers had to get into my Google Plus Community for alpha testers.
I had the same problem (404 error on tester's link), but the cause was different from the one shown in buckson18's answer: in my case the app was published, but the user didn't join the testers Google Group, although he received the invite.
After the user joined the group, the page showed correctly.
Hope this can help someone...
I was also facing this issue. The problem was that Google group was not added. Another important thing to take care is that the account being used for developer console must be member of google group being added. I couldn't find this anywhere in the documentation.
I have been using Beta testings for a couple of years and its very unreliable. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Now they have Open Beta Testing. I tried it today for the first time, and though I followed all the instructions, but it still doesn't show the app in the app store, unless I sign in, which makes it regular old style beta testing. Its much easier and hassle free to use HockeyApp to distribute app for testing.
After wasting hours with Goolge's Alpha and Beta versions, I always end up putting my app into production so that I could keep my testers. Its already hard to convince large number of people to do the testing, and then keep asking them to go through half working or not working procedures to download the app.
I solved it by go to https://play.google.com/apps/testing/[app package] on the device and then click that link and open it with google play
One thing that seems to have worked for us is to use the "opt-in URL" the Play Store developer console provides under "App releases" which should look like:
https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.yourappname.android
This DIFFERS than the URL you see if you're already approved as a tester and visit the app's page on the Play Store in a browser. Ours looks like this:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yourappname.android
Net net, use the 1st and not the 2nd. Good luck!
It should be noted also that the link is case sensitive so if you've got https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.someAppName - if you put https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.someappname it'll tell you it's not available!