Is it possible to disable the automatic download of the APK expansion file when you download the application from google play?
Can I force google play to disable the download and let the application download itself the expansion file?
Thanks
If it's your own application you want to test, the best option is to install localy the .apk file on your device without the expansion pack. Upload the application and expansion pack to Google Play and activate it without publishing. When you first start your application, the expansion files will be downloaded from Google Play. This way you can test your expansion files downloader.
#Kai
Is there a specific reason for you to wish for downloading the files yourself?
Yea, our App has many stages(game), each requires its own specific data(media), so downloading only the required data will help increase convenience of the user by avoiding unwanted paid mobile data usage...
Related
I have published my app on play store with expansion files (obb format). On play store it the download size is apk size + obb file size. Can I get answers for following queries?
Is there any settings on console to download apk only and then manually trigger to download apk?
If you add expansion file, is it automatically downloaded with apk?
Sometimes it does not download automatically, what is the reason for that?
I was looking to download the app first and once app is installed, manually trigger the download of the expansion files (obb) from the play store.
After testing and speaking to customer care of Google developlers Play console I got this specification :
Google play automatically downloads the expansion files while downloading the apk most of the times.
There are exceptions sometimes it does not download with the apk and need to trigger download manually. One of the problem can be limited storage on the device.Then it needs to be triggered manually.
The size of the apk reflects the size of the apk and size of the expansion file together.
I had uploaded apk(created using unity) with its expansion file on play store.after publishing the apk,play store download large expansion file (additional file) firstthen small apk file. why ?Actually I want to change the order of downloading for my app, how can I change that?
No, you can't change it.
And I don't see why it matters. The APK needs the expansion file to work, so it downloads the data first and then the executable. What order it's downloaded in doesn't matter.
However, if you for whatever reason want to download it in the apk-> expansion file order, you have to download it from a self-hosted server from the APK. You cannot change the order in which it's downloaded from google play
My game 160MB of size, I separate it one apk and one main OBB, the question is, is it possible if publish it together but need user download only apk, it will download obb in the game later? The point is made it look smallest size of the game for download in google play and using google play server host instead of using our host.
From the documentation, If Google Play is able to download the expansion files (which is the case for most devices), it downloads them along with the APK. If Google Play is unable to download the expansion files, it downloads the APK only.
When the user launches your application, your app must check whether the expansion files are already saved on the device. If yes, your app is ready to go. If no, your app must download the expansion files over HTTP from Google Play.
So Google Play will always try to download the expansion file(s) at the same time if downloads the APK, so your application has everything it needs when the user opens it for the first time. Unless there is no available space to save the expansion file(s), or no network connection. So, no way to force users to download the APK only in most cases.
As #ztan said, in the worst case need to publish only apk file and download obb in the first time from our host.
many of my users have problems to install my App from the Play Store due to a lack of enought internal memory. The size of the App is: APK 37MB + EXPANSION 1,3 GB.
I was aware that many users don't want to have such big data in the system memory and implemented the licencing- and download-libary example, and changed the code that the expansion-file will be downloaded directliy to the physical sd-card. But the user can run my download-process only from the options-menu within the App.
.
The problem:
Google stated here:
"...If Google Play is unable to download the expansion files, it downloads the APK only."
But this seems to be wrong. Many user complain about installation issues and "pending/hanging" downloads. They say that when they install the App from the market that Google Play tries to download the OBB-Expansion File in the first place and (what makes it even worse) to the internal memory.
So the user can not start the App and make use of my download implementation.
As I want to make use of the security features of google's licensing mechanisms I had following idea:
Upload my app to the developer console without the expansion.
Upload another dummy-apk with the 1,3GB expansion, and don't publish it
Try to download the Expansion from the options-menu from my original app und use the licence-key from the dummy apk.
Can somebody confirm that this could work?
Is there an way to make Google Play download the large expansion directly to the external memory? Maybe if i modify the Manifest with:
android:installLocation="auto"
Any Ideas are appreciated!
Why don't you put the preferExternal value for installLocation in your manifest? This will put all files in external storage if available. Do this for all your apk files.
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:installLocation="preferExternal"
... >
from: app install location
I am using concept of Android Expansion which helps us to remove obstacle of 50mb limitation of Apk.
Following all the steps http://developer.android.com/guide/market/expansion-files.html
I understood that you need to follow file format like this [main|patch].<expansion-version>.<package-name>.obb and did the same.
And also Expansion files may be in (ZIP, PDF, MP4, etc.) format.
I uploaded additional expansion files while publishing apk on Google play. At the time of download apk I get all the additional in my Local(Advanced latest Device), But through code I am not able to get the expansable files of my application.
In code looking at the sampleDownloader code I came to know that it requires three parameter (int type, int expansionCode, long fileSize)
here type: main/patch expansionCode: integer value but I am just wondering how to give FileSize in Long(exact)? and second thing its show message like Download failed because the resource could not be found
Any idea?
Update
Done, all steps are shown here
Did you go through Downloading the Expansion Files? It mentions that
If the expansion files are not there with your Application downloaded from Android Market,
You have to perform Application Licensing to get your app's expansion file names, sizes, and URLs.
Perform a request using Google Play's Application Licensing to get your app's expansion file names, sizes, and URLs.
Use the URLs provided by Google Play to download the expansion files and save the expansion files.
UPDATE:
No, its not compulsory that Google Licensing only works with paid Application. There is a clear Note: defined in the Docs itself that any application may use licensing service to initiate the download of an APK expansion file. But, in that case your request will be only for expansion files and not for a check whether the user paid for the app or not.