App not updating for alpha testers on google play

Question

My app is being tested using Google Play. I am one of my alpha testers, naturally. I released a new alpha version of the app. I was expecting it to update automatically on my device. But it's not updating. Am I missing a step? According to Google

Once they install the app and opt in, they'll automatically be updated to the new test version.

Foreshank

"Automatic" is not automatic. How long have you waited? Give it 12 hours, at the very minimum, before you start worrying. – Inquiry

Wow! 12 hours! I published yesterday some time before 6pm (maybe 4pm). So for sure it has been 12hours. Still I was expecting immediate. – Foreshank

It used to be quite a bit quicker, but the Play Store has grown a lot in the last few years. Also, make sure you have the Play Store version of the app on your device, not the signed-with-debug-key-by-eclipse version. – Inquiry

Thanks! since you posted no "response" I had to give each of your comments an upvote and accept the one response. – Foreshank

I had it work like once or twice, but this time I waited well beyond 24 hours and still no update... something must be broken? I had to go manually to the app page on Google Play, with the device, and tap the Update button manually. I'd just like to also point out that using stuff like Crashlytics Beta for alpha/beta distribution will update apps instantaneously. I guess IAP and stuff won't work however unless the app goes through Google Play (?) – Affenpinscher

Open Play Store app > main menu > My apps & games -> every time you open this page it checks for updates. No need to clear cache or anything else. Cheers – Playboy

For me, the only thing that worked was rebooting the phone. – Neale

Answer 1

Nothing with Google Play is automatic. They have a caching system much like Apple App Store among others. From my experience, once or twice a day the cache system gets flushed and the market gets updated.

At some point after that, the updates get pushed. This can be a multi-day process unfortunately.

Idaho

This is disheartening news. I am on a tight schedule with my testers and this wait is not good. – Foreshank

On a tight schedule it might be easier to set up a host and just give them a link where an updated version is kept. – Inquiry

So eventually my phone got an update. But some of my testers didn't get updated. Do you know why that might be? tagging @Inquiry – Foreshank

that's due to mainly two factors. 1) Google Play scans each .apk individually looking for malicious apps, and that scans need computational power that is queued 2) server replication ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replication_(computing) ). It will be great if stuff was instant, by digital-life still not so perfect. – Nazar

Force quit AND clear the play store cache/data and it will update instantly. – Boucicault

if you need immediate updates to testers, you can use the "Internal Test" track now – Adabelle

@Adabelle looks like "internal Test" is not immediate. Still takes couple hours to update for me. Shame on you, Google – Surmount

"instantly" is a big word for Google.. Force quit -> clear cache -> clear data is not working for me.. still need to wait a couple hours - horrible dev experience, ended up resending apk's via emails.. – Copulate

Force quite + Clear data used to do the trick. Not anymore. It takes hours for the internal track version to be available on certain phones. This is not acceptable at all. – Knowable

Clear cache/data didn't work for me nor did waiting 3 days. I used link, that worked. See my other comment to Ricardo's answer for more details, or even better this answer below: https://mcmap.net/q/181120/-app-not-updating-for-alpha-testers-on-google-play – Carrnan

The instruction by @Boucicault really helped a lot. It works! :) – Montemayor

Right now (for internal testers), I get the update in 30 minutes. But when I open the link of invitation I have to update the page before click on "download it on Google Play". – Stantonstanway

Suggestion from @Boucicault still working today. Just been waiting 45m for my internal test build to hit my device, but as soon as I force closed it, and then cleared the app cache data, the new build is available instantly. – Kalli

@AndrewWest highfive – Boucicault

Answer 2

Just had the same problem. My update wasn't available after 48 hours. Tried closing the app store and restarting the phone, which didn't work. Then I went into the phones settings and cleared the play stores cache, which worked immediately, and I could download the latest alpha version.

Valerianaceous

Could you please tell us where is this setting: I didn’t fin it. – Macrogamete

Go Device Settings -> Apps -> All and click on the Play Store App entry. Scroll down and click on Clear Cache. Maybe this might help. However in my case the Update to my Alpha Test version was still not available. – Christos

On my Sony Xperia look for "Google Play Store" ie. not together with apps starting with P and the "clear cache" is an option under "Storage". – Flatware

Worked for me immediately, too! Thanks for this tip! – Katiekatina

Worked for me! Another way to get into the app settings is holding down on the Play Store app icon, and then tapping "App info", then tapping Storage, then tapping "Clear data". – Circumscription

Answer 3

In addition to the time it takes for app updates to fully process, the Google Play app itself also caches app information, so your users (and you) may be seeing a cached version of your Google Play list.

Here's a trick to force Google Play to fetch the latest version of your app. This works every time for me.

How to reset the Google Play app's cache:

1. Force close the Google Play app
2. Open the Settings app
3. Go to Applications > Application Manager > Google Play Store > Storage
4. Click Clear Cache

The Google Play app's cache should now be reset. Try finding your app again and see if it shows the latest version.

Cholula

In my version of Android step 3 is "Apps & notifications > See All [57] Apps > Google Play Store > Storage & cache > Clear cache" – Emyle

This is the only thing that worked for me in March 2022! – Lucier

Answer 4

Google announced on March 2018 the availability of an internal test track.

According to documentation:

You should create an internal test if you want to quickly distribute your app for internal testing and quality assurance checks.

[…]

An internal test can have up to 100 testers per app.

Authentic

This is what I tried but the update won't show up on some phones no matter what I do. – Theurer

Same things happens on my side as well, Bloodhound. – Nepil

I can't make my release update on the Internal Test track at all. – Diez

In my case it still need hours for the internal test track user to receive update. I don't what's wrong or maybe it is the way it is. – Hautesalpes

Make sure you uninstall the app installed from the non-internal track and reinstall it using the opt-in URL to install the app from the internal track, which has the form https://play.google.com/apps/internaltest/INTERNAL_APP_ID. In the docs, read about: "Step 3: Share your opt-in URL with users". – Authentic

up to 100 testers per app means 100 emails added or 100 devices in total. As I know you can have unlimited devices connected to one email and that is potentially limitless – Steer

No amount of clearing cache or waiting (3) days helped me. I had added myself as Internal Track tester. I know Google Play on device recognized it, because it warned I should add different account as I have multiple accounts and app was owned by other account (which I did, didn't help). What worked was using the link Ricardo mentions above. The invite link isn't listed as required but an optional method for inviting, but apparently its sometimes required. App then was shown in play store with title 'Xxx (Internal Beta)'. Ahh, also see https://mcmap.net/q/181120/-app-not-updating-for-alpha-testers-on-google-play – Carrnan

Answer 5

reposting @Aeramor comment as an answer as this solved the issue for me.

Force quit AND clear the play store cache/data and it will update instantly

Copulate

grazia!!!!!!!!! – Taskmaster

Answer 6

I had a similar issue where my tester was able to see the production version of my app in Play Store but not the new Beta version update even though it was uploaded many hours before and available to other Beta testers as an update.

I had added him as a Beta tester to my Google Group, also added as a test user in my Google Play Store account. The solution was to force stop Play Store then restart it again.

The Beta Update was available as soon as he went back into the play store and searched for the app.

Equipollent

Thanks. That's really useful for forcing Google Play to update its cache (or whatever it is doing). – Falla

Answer 7

This might work for you:

1. On your Android phone or tablet, open your Settings (possibly represented by a cog icon), then click on Apps.

2. At the top of the screen, click the 3 dots in the top right corner to open more options and click show system apps.

3. Scroll down and tap Download Manager.

4. Tap Storage Clear Cache and clear data.

5. Open the Google Play Store and the updated version will be there to download.

Eldridge

Thanks @josh marsden. That was fun, but didn't solve it for me :) – Unwinking

This worked for me but I had to go to App Storage > Google Play Store > Clear Storage & Clear Cache – Resourceful

Answer 8

It may take some time to get the update from the android device. For me for "Internal testing", after uploading an update, I was getting it from my device for a while. Once I cleared the cache for "Google playstore" app of my android phone, I got the update immediately.

Gemmule

Answer 9

While clearing the Google Play cache resolved one issue for me, I noticed something else strange that may help someone out. When I clicked "About this app" on the app page in the Play Store, the version shown for my app was the previous version number. This made me think that the new version was still unavailable and I just needed to wait. However, after waiting several hours for the new version to appear on the Play Store, I decided to try downloading it anyway, and lo and behold, the latest version had been installed.

Bhagavadgita

I have added new tester to internal test track and he could not see "You are internal tester.." message and option to download test version. Clearning Google Play Store data and cache solved the issue. – Precedency

Answer 10

1 - Upload APK in alpha test
2 - Add your email in one google group or google plus community
3 - copy the link test provided by google play and press accept button

Now just wait until your application became updated.

Serinaserine

So eventually my phone got an update. But some of my testers didn't get updated. Do you know why that might be? – Foreshank

@CoteMounyo maybe some tester doesn't have the google play configured to update yours apps automatic, in this case the tester has to access manually the google play and update your apps. – Serinaserine

If you forget to copy that link, it looks like you can never get an alpha link again. EVER. What the hell? – Suter

@user3562927 Yes you can, it's under the list of allowed participants in the internal test. – Bengt

Answer 11

It tooks 72h for me to update close testers app. Without removing caché or anything, just...waiting 3 long days :(

Septic

Answer 12

I found that the link I provided to testers was almost immediately going to the newest version. No need to clear cache or any other steps required.

Just check to see the link goes to the new version, then inform testers to click the app link for the update and install it.

fyi, this was for an internal test release with an email list of testers created in play console. Also, the first release had a delay before a link was available, but subsequent releases were available through the link provided to testers very shortly after rollout.

Cavafy

Answer 13

I did all of the above (cleared cache in Google Play and Download Manager), restarted my phone, and then checked for updates in the "My apps & games" located in the settings drop down (3 bars on the left of the search bar when opening Google Play) and there it was, voila.. waiting to be updated. About 5 minutes after I updated my app, I got my email saying my update was live.

Differentia

Answer 14

In my case of the “Digital Diary” app, I was trying to release new app version with version code of 36 (2.0) while my current version code is 157 (3.0), leading the system to interpret it as a downgrade rather than an update.Consequently, the “Update” option is not shown to existing users.

It is really unfortunate that the play store console doesn't warn the developer about it.

More info: https://medium.com/@boobalaninfo/google-play-doesnt-shows-update-option-to-internal-tester-after-new-internal-5a4e1d43e96a

Adulation

Answer 15

Don't forget to pass in WIFI mode to get the update (depending of your settings).

Marginal

Answer 16

Recently faced this issue and contacted Google Play Developer Support. Here are the instructions. Maybe it could help someone...

Please make sure that the tester email you used must not be opted into multiple testing tracks. Please ensure that your testing group is only enabled in only one testing track.

I recommend you to opt out of all the testing tracks and clear the cache and data for the Play Store app and your device’s download manager. This will clear any settings and temporary information saved to your device. You can still access purchases you’ve made from Google Play, like apps, music, movies, and books. Here's how:

1. Open your device's main Settings app.
2. Tap Apps or Application manager (depending on your device, this may be different).
3. Tap Google Play Store
4. Tap Storage.
5. Tap CLEAR CACHE > OK.
6. Tap CLEAR DATA > OK.
7. Tap the back arrow to go back to the main menu.
8. Select Downloads or Download Manager.
9. Tap CLEAR CACHE > OK.
10. Tap CLEAR DATA > OK.
11. Relaunch the app.

IMHO, the most crucial point here is the following:

Please make sure that the tester email you used must not be opted into multiple testing tracks. Please ensure that your testing group is only enabled in only one testing track.

Meloniemelony

Answer 17

Accessing Google Play test app updates

TLDR:

add users to tester list with email matching their device account; internal testing track is fastest; they must opt in using app-specific link on the web; if testers don't see update, have users Force Stop and clear app storage for Google Play Store, then visit your app's listing page in Google Play Store again.

Notes on getting/giving access to beta test updates from Google Play

• Internal Testing is the fastest. Other testing tracks can take time to Review and release. You will get an email when the review process is complete.
• Testers will need to opt in from an app-specific link; this is emailed out to each user the first time they're eligible to test a release, but it's also available from Play Console (see screenshot below)
• Testers must be signed in to their Android device with an email/account matching an entry in your Testers list (e.g. Internal Testers)
• Once the Internal Test is released, or the Review process is complete for Closed/Open testing, apps can be updated from the Google Play Store
• Google Play Store caches app data, so it may take time for any particular device to show available updates. To see available updates immediately: Long press on Google Play Store, visit App Info screen, Force Stop, visit App Storage screen and clear storage, reopen Google Play Store, and visit app page; you should see any available updates.

Edit testers from Play Console > select app > menu item Testing > [Internal|Closed|Open] Testing

Example instructions for testers:

Visit this link and click the button to opt-in to testing (Example link: https://play.google.com/apps/internaltest/INTERNAL_ID/join?hl=en-US)

• Open Google Play Store and search for App Name. Open the app listing.
• If you don’t see an option to “update” the app, install a test/beta please Force Quit and Clear Storage for Google Play Store:
• Tap and hold on Google Play Store app icon (you may have to swipe up to find it, or it may be in your “recent” bar at the bottom of the screen)
• Tap “App info”
• Tap “Force Top” option on App Info screen
• Tap “Storage & cache” Tap “Clear storage” option
• Now visiting Google Play Store again and search for APP NAME
• Install/update the beta and open the app again

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