I have not updated my Android app for quite a while. Now I would like to use the Alpha Test to run some tests of the In-App Purchase features.
Problem is, that I do not see how I can install the Alpha version on my device using the Play Store. I did the following:
Created the APK in Android Studio 2.1
Logged into the Google Play Developer Console
Selected my app and switched to APK/Alpha-Test
Uploaded the APK the the Alpha Test and published it
It is a closed Alpha Test and I am the only tester. The e-mail address I entered in the tester list perfectly matches the address of the Play Account I am using on the device.
Opened activation URL in Chrome on my Device. Play Store webpage is shown, saying that I am a tester.
Clicked the link to the Play Store and downloaded the current Version of my app
Checked if there is an update to the Alpha Version, but there is not
I uploaded/published the alpha APK on three days ago. Even if it can take some hours before an update reaches the store, three days should be long enough, shouldn't it?
I found other threads dealing with this kind of problem and in some cases the solution was to clean the cache of the Play Store App and restart the app. However this did not change anything in my case.
So, none of the suggested solutions I found worked for me. Any other idea what I can do?
UPDATE:
Still not possible to update to the alpha version. I now switch from a Closed Alpha Test an Alpha Test using a Google+ Community. However, the result is the same:
While logged in with my developer account, I switched to Google+ and created a new Community.
Invited my test user (one of my other accounts) to the group.
Copied the URL of the Goole+ Community to the Aplha Testing section in the Developer Console.
Published the changes.
When visiting the test URL (https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.mycompany.myapp) I got the message "You are not a tester"
Checking the e-mails of my test account. Found the invitation to the Google+ Community and joined.
When visiting the test URL I could now click on Become a tester and now I am tester.
Downloaded the App from the Play Store using my test account. Just received the public version.
No update to the Alpha version available...
UPDATE 2:
Also after switching to a Public Alpha Test still no update available.
I am running out of ideas...
After two weeks I was finally able to solve the issue. I share the solution here, just in case somebody encounters the same type of problem:
I contacted Google Support to find out, if there is any known problem that prevents the test version from beeing downloaded. They told me, that the uploaded APK was not compatible with my test device (Nexus 5) due to an incompatible ABI version.
This was quite confusing, sinc my app did not use any native code and thus did not configure any ABI version at all.
Finally Google told me, that the ABI version of the APK was identified as commons-io-2.4.jar. This still does not make sense, since this is obviously not an ABI version. However with this information I was able to move on and find a way to avoid the problem.
Android Stuido copied the commons-io-2.4.jar file into the lib folder within the APK. The Dev Console identified the content of this folder as ABI version (which does not make any sense) and thus the APK was marked as not compatible with the device.
Either there is a bug in Android Studio (copied the file into the lib folder) or the Dev Console (identifies the lib content als ABI version).
SOLUTION
Since I did not need the commons-io-2.4.jar anymore, I could simply remove it from the project and the new version is distributed without any problem in the Alpha/Beta Test Channel. I have no idea what I would have done, if the app would depend on this lib.
The information in the Dev Console on wether an APK is supported by specific devices or not is quite confusing:
The public version of the APK was (of course) compatible to thousands of different devices, including the Nexus 5 I use for my test. The Dev Console shows the same information (the one of the public APK) for the test APK as well. Thus I assumed, that the test APK is correct and compatible. One can only see the information about the test APK, by clicking on the APK in the Dev Console.
Related
I used to test migration problems via installing old APKs from google play console and then updating to the most recent internal test version.
Since at least a week this doesn't work anymore. Every share link to a specific APK just links me to the latest APK that is published. I'm talking about this share link:
So either the live production version, or as an internal tester the current internal test version.
Anyone else has this problem? I couldn't find anything about it online.
My personal fix now is to manually download the APK, install it via ADB and then update via playstore. But that's of course more annoying than just clicking a link.
I have been in contact with an agent from google for more than 1 month about this issue, first they insisted that it was not a problem, but I helped them to understand this issue with a few images. The agent who took care of me says that their technical team has been investigating this issue for a while.
It seems we have to wait until we get a proper fix. Until that, you can use this area to upload your apk and get a specific link for that:
https://play.google.com/console/u/0/internal-app-sharing
This part gave google play link for that build and still working on android devices without a problem.
Best!
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 am trying to set up Google Play licensing with my app. I have followed the documentation precisely, yet I still can't get it to work:
the LVL library is the latest version available in SDK Manager
I copied the license check implementation exactly from the sample app
I copied the BASE64 key of my app from "Services and APIs" in Google Play to the BASE64_PUBLIC_KEY field and made sure countless times it was copied correctly, contained no white spaces
I uploaded the app to Google Play as alfa, also tried uploading it as beta and production draft
I tried running the same compilation of the app both signed with a debug key and the key with which I signed it for Google Play(the exact same apk)
I tried setting different static test responses on Google Play
Every time I run the app on any device where I'm logged to my developer account, I always get NOT_MARKET_MANAGED error. I've read through countless forums but none of the answers helped. What else can I do?
I had the same issue and I found this note on developer.android.com:
Note: Previously you could test an app by uploading an unpublished
"draft" version. This functionality is no longer supported; instead,
you must publish it to the alpha or beta distribution channel. For
more information, see Draft Apps are No Longer Supported.
Here's what I did:
Signed and uploaded the apk file. I uploaded as beta, but I don't think it matters.
Published the app. Note, I didn't promote it to production. I used the dropdown in the top right corner. You may see the option "Why can't I publish" and no "Publish" option. If you click "Why..." it will explain what you have to do first. In my case I had to upload at least 2 screenshots.
You can unpublish straight after publishing using the same dropdown.
Give it a good few hours, may be a day.
Next day my app started to receive responses according to my "Licence testing" setting in the developer console.
My company has an app published in the google play store/android marketplace. One of the issues that we're fixing in the next version of the app is adding back xlargeScreen = true (it was somehow set to false in the previous version, so now the app isn't showing up on larger tablets). We're trying to get the alpha/beta testing setup so we can make sure we have all our problems fixed before we push the apk to live.
I've uploaded an apk to alpha and published it. I made a google+ community, added it to the accepted testers and sent out the link for the app. But, when we go out to the link and get set as testers nothing happens. If I go to the google play store, it shows the date for the newest upload to the account but the 'install' button attempts to install the previous live version (which is incompatible with the test device, yay!). Also someone else used their device and all the install did was install the old version to their device.
I've considered the "wait up to 24 hours for the publish to go through" being the problem, but the first alpha was uploaded Friday at lunch and would not work at lunch today, on Monday. I moved the old apk to beta and put a new one in alpha (more bug fixes yay) at lunch today. I checked all the settings and everything looks correct, but I can't see how I'm suppose to actually download the beta or the alpha at this point. And if I'm suppose to download the production version 1) How am I suppose to do that on the device that's incompatible with the production version and 2) how do I choose between the beta and the alpha version?
Ok, so it takes about 2 hours to be published for alpha/beta and it will be availible in the google play store in place of the live app if you opt in.
My specific problem was the the new alpha/beta apk was still incompatible with the device. I wish there was some notice on the page to show that you are viewing a test version (or better yet, a way to select alpha/beta/production on the google play page after you opt-in).
Turns out that <uses-permission> will in some cases make a device incompatible if it's missing the feature. Adding <uses-feature android:name="problem feature" android:required="false" /> for the offending permissions fixed my issue.
I just uploaded my android app for beta testing for the first time and my friends are able to download it without issue. However I found that in the app page, 'Size' and 'Current Version' shows 'Varies with device' instead of the actual apk size and version..
I've only uploaded only one APK, what gives?
Screenshot below:
If you wish to access my beta testing app page, send me a message with your gmail address in, so I can add you into the beta testing list.
Have you found out the answer yet? Since you have not elected an answer as a correct one, here we go...
Google Play allows you to publish different APKs for your application. Each one targeted to different device configuration. Thus, each APK is an independent version of your application, but they share the same application listing on Google Play and must share the same package name and be signed with the same release key.
Usually Android applications run on most compatible devices with a single APK, by supplying alternative resources for different configurations (e.g., different layouts for different screen sizes) and the Android system selects the appropriate resources for the device at runtime. But in a few cases, however, a single APK is unable to support all device configurations, because alternative resources make the APK file too big (greater than 50MB) or other technical challenges prevent a single APK from working on all devices.
And even though Google doesn't encourage developers to use this "multiple APK" feature, most Google apps use it: Google+, Google Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Search, Google Play Books, Google Play Movies & TV, Google Translate.
I hope I was helpful.
Check the Artifacts library section of Release Management in Google Play developer console, you should have just one active artifact for the your app release.
My app was on closed track and the latest release wasn't showing until I removed the draft APKs in "Artifact library" and uninstalled the app from all closed test devices.