Android Market - different signing certificate

Question

I would like to update my app using the same package name but different signing certificate (consultants made first version and I don't have their certificate info). If I unpublish and then upload the new apk, will existing users be able to do an easy update or will users have to uninstall and download a new app?

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 17 '13 at 15:52

This is not possible. The keystore contains a certificate which is used to digitally sign your apk. Each certificate is completely unique, and cannot be regenerated or recovered from older apks.

Google relies on this because it is extremely secure, and allows them to really reduce the chances that someone can hack your developer account details and upload a malicious apk as an update to your existing app.

For now, you'll have to reupload the app under a different package name with a different key, and somehow inform users that you have changed the app details.

When you unpublish the app, new users will no longer be able to see it, but older users will still have it installed and will be able to see it in Google Play.

score 1 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:22

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They will have to download a new app.

Only if your have the original certificate it is possible to let user's update the existing app.

See: Publishing Updates on Android Market

Before uploading the updated application, be sure that you have incremented the android:versionCode and android:versionName attributes in the element of the manifest file. Also, the package name must be the same and the .apk must be signed with the same private key. If the package name and signing certificate do not match those of the existing version, Market will consider it a new application and will not offer it to users as an update.

also see this post:

edited May 23 '17 at 12:22

Community

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answered Jan 17 '13 at 15:44

Oritm

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does unpublishing remove the app for existing users or allow any form of notification that there is a replacement? – user1987656 Jan 17 '13 at 15:50
Unpublishing does not affect existing installations, though new users will not see the app in the play store and will not be able to install the app (until you republish the app). If you have some built-in notification, you can notify the users. I don't think you can do that by default. – Oritm Jan 17 '13 at 15:57

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 17 '13 at 15:46

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Fraid not. The play store requires that an updated app to have the same package name and the same certificate.

If you need to create a new certificate you would have to publish it as a new with a different package name and upload this version to the market.

You would then have to tell existing users that in order to get the update they should download the new version from the play store and remove the existing app from the device.

answered Jan 17 '13 at 15:46

Boardy

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Is there a mechanism to tell users of this type of change? – user1987656 Jan 17 '13 at 15:49
@user1987656: Only if you created one (e.g., blog, Twitter, G+, mailing list). – CommonsWare Jan 17 '13 at 16:00
Not via android, as @CommonsWare pointed out, the only way to inform users would be via website, twitter, facebook etc, however you communicate with your users. – Boardy Jan 17 '13 at 16:31

Android Market - different signing certificate

3 Answers3