I am developing an Android application and it is not finished. I would like to test it on multiple devices, locations with various users that are not near me. How can I achieve this? Is there an APK I can send them? Is there a way that is as simple as plugging my phone in and then running the application from Eclipse? Or would I have to make an installer of some sort (I don't know)?
Obviously you can plug your phone(s) into the machine you are developing on and run it from eclipse. This will allow you to test and debug on the devices you have access to.
You can also export an apk from eclipse (see the android pages for instructions). You could put this up on a file sharing site and make it available to your friends. They could then install it, as long as they have authorised "unsigned" apks to be installed in their phone settings.
Assuming you have deployed the app at least once from within Eclipse to debug and test yourself, you will most likely have an APK under the bin directory in your Eclipse project. The file should be .apk. This APK will have been signed automatically by Eclipse with your debug key. This is obviously not the key you use for publishing but for testing among friends I think it's fine.
What I often do is just e-mail that APK file as an attachment to my friends to an e-mail account they have setup on their phone. Then all they need to do on their phone is make sure they have the system setting to allow installation of non-market apps (i.e. not from Google Play), which maybe named something slightly different like "allow 3rd party apps". Then they can simply click on the app attachment in their e-mail, download it and run it and they should automatically be prompted with instructions to install it.
I just used MyAppSharer. (I believe there are other similar apps out there - this is just the one I've used and is very simple/easy:
...you can share by market link or directly share APK (App's full
package)
I just used that, and sent my app via apk file to my coworkers. Can't get much simpler.
Just install the app on your phone via Eclipse, then run this AppSharer, and voila - share it w/ anyone!
You can can easily export your project as an APK in eclipse
File -> Export -> Export Android Project
Related
I'm working on developing my first mobile app on the Appery.io platform. I'm just about done building the app and need to beta test it for Android.
Appery lets you generate an Android certificate and export your app as a .apk file. I have my .apk file and I want to install it on my friend's phone. Is there anything else I need to do or can I install the .apk file? How do I go about actually getting it installed on the phone? It's not clear from the site's instructions how to do it when using a platform that generates the .apk file for you.
The easiest solution is to email the APK file to your friend. Then click on the attachment on your friend's phone. Alternatively, you can install the Android SDK and use its adb tool.
You can send it via Bluetooth or Share it on Dropbox, Google Drive, etc. When you install the app be sure that in the phone settings the "Install apps from unknown publisher" is checked. And don't verify the app with google play. Just click package installer.
There are several ways to install apk like:
send apk as attachment to your friend and open the attachment on their device.
copy the apk to their device and open it using any file manager, it will lead to install it.
send apk whiya bluetooth/ wifi tethering etc and open it on their device.
upload it to any file hosting website and open that link in their device using any web browser and download and install further.
if that device is with you, you can use adb.exe tool with following command "adb install your apkfile"
Note: but to use any of these ways, their device should have enabled "Install from Unknown sources" in their device settings->security.
Or alternately best approach:
upload your apk to GooglePlay Store and they can install it from there hassle free.
I have created an Android Calculator app in Eclipse. If I want to run my app I need run it through Eclipse. But I want to run my app without Eclipse in any system as normal apps run, just download it and run.
If any one knows how to do this, please help me.
You probably want to take the .apk file in your bin folder. This file is your entire app packaged together.
You can run & install this on other Android phones, but they will have to have enabled "unknown sources" in application settings.
Otherwise, you'll have to publish to the app store, from where the entire world that owns an Android device can download it directly.
app run without eclipse in any system as a normal apps run
may I know how the normal apps run?
it need any emulator or device.
you can run the .apk file without eclipse also!.
download the Android SDk and create an emulator thru avd command and install any app.
the other way you can do by 3rd party software called BlueStacks App Player
this software is only for mac and Windows download here
Inside bin folder of your Calculator app project located on Hard disk there will be .apk file which you can transfer to your device then open file browser whichever you have that will allow you to install and run your application cheers.
Do you mean you want to install it on any device from your system, without the need to run Eclipse?
The command would be something like "adb install bin/MyCalculator.apk". Once you do that, your app is installed just like any other.
Do you mean you want anybody to install your app on their device? Your best bet is to just put it on the Android Market. Don't forget to generate a real signing key (don't use the Eclipse debug key) and sign your app properly before uploading it to the market.
If you don't want to use the market, then you can put the apk file on any web page, and have people download it with their browser. Then they go to their device settings and enable "Unknown sources". After that, they can run their browser, go to "Menu > Download" and select the apk they just downloaded.
Or, you can send the apk file to someone directly, and have them attach their device to their computer, enable USB, and copy the apk to their /sdcard directory somewhere. Then they launch a file browser (they'll have to install that first) and navigate to the apk file. I think that will allow them to install the apk on their device.
I think that should cover it.
You should generate the .apk file, and install it on any device you want..
http://www.technobitez.com/how-to/create-apk-files-for-android-phone
How to build an APK file in Eclipse?
I exported an unsigned apk file that represents a test version of my Android application. I need to distribute this to quite a few users. Is there a simple method to distribute the apk file where it will install the app? I'm trying to avoid the test users from having to download something like Astro or the sdk. Any ideas? I tried putting it out on a global web server and the file downloads but doesn't install. Thanks for the help!
From the android documentation:
The Android system will not install or run an application that is not
signed appropriately. This applies wherever the Android system is run,
whether on an actual device or on the emulator. For this reason, you
must set up signing for your application before you can run it or
debug it on an emulator or device.
So even if your users have the "Allow installing non-market apps" checked, your application will still have to be signed with at least a test key before it can be installed on a physical device.
I just put my experimental apps on the Android market with a description that says "don't install this, it won't work for you" and then give an access key to my testers.
Is there a way to install an application I'm in the middle of development on to my phone without going through all the steps of signing it, releasing it etc.? (Without the phone being connected by USB)
I'm still very much mid-development, but I need to demonstrate the progress I've made so far to other members of my team away from access to my development environment, so I need to install it on my phone.
Inside your project bin folder there is an apk file. If you copy that file to a device you can then install the app from it.
When I am in your situation I throw my apk into dropbox and send out links for people to download it.
You can try adb wireless http://www.helloandroid.com/content/connect-your-android-phone-adb-wireless
But i don't really see why you cannot export and install an unsigned app?
At&t (and possibly other carriers) set up the firmware to prohibit sideloading, so you need USB connection if that is your carrier. Otherwise, just put the apk on a web site and enable installation from unapproved sources.
See for the purpose of debugging you can use the adb-wireless which provides the same functionality as the use of a USB.
Also for installing it on the phone directly you can try this and see if this helps.
Go to Settings -> Applications
Select the Unknown sources option. This allows you to install apps on your phone even if the app is not released into the Android Market.
If you are using Eclipse or any other IDE just click on the project and run as android application. The app shall get installed directly. ( Installation shall not depend upon whether you are using adb-wireless or a USB)
I am trying to distribute my application to some people for testing.
I have installed it on my Desire directly from eclipse and it works fine.
To create an APK-file, I choose "Export Unsigned Application Package" directly from eclipse, and then an APK file was created. I emailed it to myself and downloaded the file to the SD-card. But when I try to install it (using ES File Browser), I get a message saying "Application not installed".
(I have already checked the "Allow installation of non-Market application" on my phone)
Any ideas?
Yeah I found the problem, see my answer below:
I did not know that even with the "Allow Installation of non-Marked application", I still needed to sign the application.
I self-signed my application, following this link self-sign and release application, It only took 5 minutes, then I emailed the signed-APK file to myself and downloaded it to SD-card and then installed it without any problem.
I did not know that even with the "Allow Installation of non-Marked application", I still needed to sign the application.
I self-signed my application, following this link self-sign and release application, It only took 5 minutes, then I emailed the signed-APK file to myself and downloaded it to SD-card and then installed it without any problem.
You cannot install an unsigned application on a phone. You can only use it to test with an emulator. If you still want to go ahead, you can try self-signing the application.
Also, since you are installing the application from an SD card, I hope you have the necessary permissions set. Do go through stackoverflow.com and look at questions regarding installation of applications from an SD card - there have been many and they have been asked before.
Hope that helps.
You can test the unsigned-apk only on Emulator. And as its step of application deployment and distribution, you should read this article atleast once, i suggest: http://developer.android.com/guide/publishing/app-signing.html.
For your question, you can find the below line in above article:
All applications must be signed. The system will not install an application that is not signed.
so you have to have signed-apk before the distribution of your application.
To generate Signed-apk of your application, there is a simple wizard procedure, click on File -> Export -> Android -> Export Android application.
Just follow these steps to transfer the apk onto the real device(with debugger key) and which is just for testing purpose. (Note: For proper distribution to the market you may need to sign your app with your keys and follow all the steps.)
Install your app onto the emulator.
Once it is installed goto DDMS, select the current running app under the devices window. This will then show all the files related to it under the file explorer.
Under file explorer go to data->app and select your APK (which is the package name of the app).
Select it and click on 'Pull a file from the device' button (the one with the save symbol).
This copies the APK to your system. From there you can copy the file to your real device, install and test it.
Good luck !
I cannot install an apk build with "Export Unsigned Application Package" Android SDK feature, but i can install an apk browsing the bin directory of my project after the project buid. I put this apk on my sd on my HTC Wildfire phone, select it and the application install correctly.
You need to allow your phone to install unsigned apk.
Good Luck.
You could also send your testers the apk that is signed with your debug key. You can find that in the bin folder of your project after building in debug mode.
An unsigned application cannot be installed. When we run directly from eclipse, that apk is signed with debugger key and can be found in bin\ folder of the project. You can use that for test purpose distribution also.