Android Beta Test

Google Play has beta test framework.
This is useful.
We can provide beta apk to tester. This post is about it.

Get Started

Let’s prepare beta test.

1. Test Group(Google Group)
2. Register this group as beta tester list
3. Send Google Play URL for beta apk
4. Upload beta apk
5. The tester allow to be tester using Google Play URL for beta(click URL of 3)

If you provide beta version, you need to create Google Group or Google+ community.
Do you have an account of Google? Everybody who has Google Account can create new Google Group. The owner should not be google play account owner. Anyone is O.K.
But Google Play account should join this Google Group, maybe.

Beta Tester

Open Google Developer Console
Click “APK” tab and

Add Google Group or Google+ community here.

Upload APK

If you already uploaded product version, you should change code number in AndroidManifest.xml
Also you need create APK with signed key not debug key.

Beta test URL

After registering test member, test URL is coming. This URL is for tester. Please share this URL for testers(email or any ways).
The tester tap this link, and show up confirmation to be tester.
Tap O.K., you become a tester.

Install beta version

Let’s go Google Play and install. If you are a tester, you can see beta version description. So, you install from Google Play.

Tester

To be a tester, we need following.

• *Google Account(Gmail)
• *Member of Google Group
• Android Device

At first, the testers need to join Google group.
And they get Google Play URL for tester and allow to become

Install

Tester should install beta version from Google Play.(That step is same as general user)
But, tester can see beta version software in Google Play.

Unregister

This is very easy. Did you keep Google Play URL of allowance?
See this page again, and you can see unregister link on this page.

You will do step several times because once we got member of testing, we cannot install product version.

Point

There are some points which should be careful.

• We should share tester link by ourselves
• Need Google Play Account
• To install product version for tester, the tester has to give up tester
• Create apk with signed key