I have put my app on the Google Play Store. It has been installed by lots of my company's customers. I understand the mechanism of how the app is intended to upgrade.
The users should check the auto-update check box in the Playstore app for each app they want to auto-update. However some users have unchecked it or not checked it in the first place.
The app i have written is for the care industry and is used by carers to deliver homecare. Some of our customers my have 1200 carers. They would have to call all the carers into the office to update the phones individually. This is obviously unacceptable.
Is there a way to programmatically check if there is an updated version of my app on the Play Store?
Could i have code that runs every time the user starts the app that checks the Play Store? If there is an updated version then the user could be directed to the Playstore. This will mean it is not essential to have the auto-update checked.
This question is related to
android
The answer is
You can get current Playstore Version using JSoup with some modification like below:
@Override
protected String doInBackground(Void... voids) {
String newVersion = null;
try {
newVersion = Jsoup.connect("https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=" + MainActivity.this.getPackageName() + "&hl=it")
.timeout(30000)
.userAgent("Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; WindowsNT 5.1; en-US; rv1.8.1.6) Gecko/20070725 Firefox/2.0.0.6")
.referrer("http://www.google.com")
.get()
.select(".hAyfc .htlgb")
.get(7)
.ownText();
return newVersion;
} catch (Exception e) {
return newVersion;
}
}
@Override
protected void onPostExecute(String onlineVersion) {
super.onPostExecute(onlineVersion);
Log.d("update", "playstore version " + onlineVersion);
}
answer of @Tarun is not working anymore.
Apart from using JSoup, we can alternatively do pattern matching for getting the app version from playStore.
To match the latest pattern from google playstore ie
<div class="BgcNfc">Current Version</div><span class="htlgb"><div><span class="htlgb">X.X.X</span></div>
we first have to match the above node sequence and then from above sequence get the version value. Below is the code snippet for same:
private String getAppVersion(String patternString, String inputString) {
try{
//Create a pattern
Pattern pattern = Pattern.compile(patternString);
if (null == pattern) {
return null;
}
//Match the pattern string in provided string
Matcher matcher = pattern.matcher(inputString);
if (null != matcher && matcher.find()) {
return matcher.group(1);
}
}catch (PatternSyntaxException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
}
return null;
}
private String getPlayStoreAppVersion(String appUrlString) {
final String currentVersion_PatternSeq = "<div[^>]*?>Current\\sVersion</div><span[^>]*?>(.*?)><div[^>]*?>(.*?)><span[^>]*?>(.*?)</span>";
final String appVersion_PatternSeq = "htlgb\">([^<]*)</s";
String playStoreAppVersion = null;
BufferedReader inReader = null;
URLConnection uc = null;
StringBuilder urlData = new StringBuilder();
final URL url = new URL(appUrlString);
uc = url.openConnection();
if(uc == null) {
return null;
}
uc.setRequestProperty("User-Agent", "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; WindowsNT 5.1; en-US; rv1.8.1.6) Gecko/20070725 Firefox/2.0.0.6");
inReader = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(uc.getInputStream()));
if (null != inReader) {
String str = "";
while ((str = inReader.readLine()) != null) {
urlData.append(str);
}
}
// Get the current version pattern sequence
String versionString = getAppVersion (currentVersion_PatternSeq, urlData.toString());
if(null == versionString){
return null;
}else{
// get version from "htlgb">X.X.X</span>
playStoreAppVersion = getAppVersion (appVersion_PatternSeq, versionString);
}
return playStoreAppVersion;
}
I got it solved through this, as this works for latest Google playstore changes also. Hope that helps.
Firebase Remote Config is better.
- Quickly and easily update our applications without the need to publish a new build to the app
Implementing Remote Config on Android
Adding the Remote Config dependancy
compile 'com.google.firebase:firebase-config:9.6.0'
Once done, we can then access the FirebaseRemoteConfig instance throughout our application where required:
FirebaseRemoteConfig firebaseRemoteConfig = FirebaseRemoteConfig.getInstance();
Retrieving Remote Config values
boolean someBoolean = firebaseRemoteConfig.getBoolean("some_boolean");
byte[] someArray = firebaseRemoteConfig.getByteArray("some_array");
double someDouble = firebaseRemoteConfig.getDouble("some_double");
long someLong = firebaseRemoteConfig.getLong("some_long");
String appVersion = firebaseRemoteConfig.getString("appVersion");
Fetch Server-Side values
firebaseRemoteConfig.fetch(cacheExpiration)
.addOnCompleteListener(new OnCompleteListener<Void>() {
@Override
public void onComplete(@NonNull Task<Void> task) {
if (task.isSuccessful()) {
mFirebaseRemoteConfig.activateFetched();
// We got our config, let's do something with it!
if(appVersion < CurrentVersion){
//show update dialog
}
} else {
// Looks like there was a problem getting the config...
}
}
});
Now once uploaded the new version to playstore, we have to update the version number inside firebase. Now if it is new version the update dialog will display
Include JSoup in your apps build.gradle file :
dependencies {
compile 'org.jsoup:jsoup:1.8.3'
}
and get current version like :
currentVersion = getPackageManager().getPackageInfo(getPackageName(), 0).versionName;
And execute following thread :
private class GetVersionCode extends AsyncTask<Void, String, String> {
@Override
protected String doInBackground(Void... voids) {
String newVersion = null;
try {
newVersion = Jsoup.connect("https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=" + MainActivity.this.getPackageName() + "&hl=it")
.timeout(30000)
.userAgent("Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; WindowsNT 5.1; en-US; rv1.8.1.6) Gecko/20070725 Firefox/2.0.0.6")
.referrer("http://www.google.com")
.get()
.select(".hAyfc .htlgb")
.get(7)
.ownText();
return newVersion;
} catch (Exception e) {
return newVersion;
}
}
@Override
protected void onPostExecute(String onlineVersion) {
super.onPostExecute(onlineVersion);
Log.d("update", "Current version " + currentVersion + "playstore version " + onlineVersion);
if (onlineVersion != null && !onlineVersion.isEmpty()) {
if (Float.valueOf(currentVersion) < Float.valueOf(onlineVersion)) {
//show dialog
}
}
}
For more details visit : http://revisitingandroid.blogspot.in/2016/12/programmatically-check-play-store-for.html
Google introduced In-app updates feature, (https://developer.android.com/guide/app-bundle/in-app-updates) it works on Lollipop+ and gives you the ability to ask the user for an update with a nice dialog (FLEXIBLE) or with mandatory full-screen message (IMMEDIATE).
Here is how Flexible update will look like:
and here is Immedtiate update flow:
You can check my answer here https://stackoverflow.com/a/56808529/5502121 to get the complete sample code of implementing both Flexible and Immediate update flows. Hope it helps!
You can try following code using Jsoup
String latestVersion = doc.getElementsContainingOwnText("Current Version").parents().first().getAllElements().last().text();
confirmed only that method work now:
newVersion = Jsoup.connect("https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=" + AcMainPage.this.getPackageName() + "&hl=it")
.timeout(30000)
.userAgent("Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; WindowsNT 5.1; en-US; rv1.8.1.6) Gecko/20070725 Firefox/2.0.0.6")
.referrer("http://www.google.com")
.get()
.select(".hAyfc .htlgb")
.get(5)
.ownText();
Google has introduced in-app updates API
The API currently supports two flows:
- The “immediate” flow is a full-screen user experience that guides the user from download to update before they can use your app.
- The “flexible flow” allows users to download the update while continuing to use your app.
private void CheckUPdate() {
VersionChecker versionChecker = new VersionChecker();
try
{ String appVersionName = BuildConfig.VERSION_NAME;
String mLatestVersionName = versionChecker.execute().get();
if(!appVersionName.equals(mLatestVersionName)){
AlertDialog.Builder alertDialog = new AlertDialog.Builder(Activity.this);
alertDialog.setTitle("Please update your app");
alertDialog.setMessage("This app version is no longer supported. Please update your app from the Play Store.");
alertDialog.setPositiveButton("UPDATE NOW", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
final String appPackageName = getPackageName();
try {
startActivity(new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW, Uri.parse("market://details?id=" + appPackageName)));
} catch (android.content.ActivityNotFoundException anfe) {
startActivity(new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW, Uri.parse("https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=" + appPackageName)));
}
}
});
alertDialog.show();
}
} catch (InterruptedException | ExecutionException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
@SuppressLint("StaticFieldLeak")
public class VersionChecker extends AsyncTask<String, String, String> {
private String newVersion;
@Override
protected String doInBackground(String... params) {
try {
newVersion = Jsoup.connect("https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id="+getPackageName())
.timeout(30000)
.userAgent("Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; WindowsNT 5.1; en-US; rv1.8.1.6) Gecko/20070725 Firefox/2.0.0.6")
.referrer("http://www.google.com")
.get()
.select(".hAyfc .htlgb")
.get(7)
.ownText();
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
return newVersion;
}
}
@Tarun answer was working perfectly.but now isnt ,due to the recent changes from Google on google play website.
Just change these from @Tarun answer..
class GetVersionCode extends AsyncTask<Void, String, String> {
@Override
protected String doInBackground(Void... voids) {
String newVersion = null;
try {
Document document = Jsoup.connect("https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=" + MainActivity.this.getPackageName() + "&hl=en")
.timeout(30000)
.userAgent("Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; WindowsNT 5.1; en-US; rv1.8.1.6) Gecko/20070725 Firefox/2.0.0.6")
.referrer("http://www.google.com")
.get();
if (document != null) {
Elements element = document.getElementsContainingOwnText("Current Version");
for (Element ele : element) {
if (ele.siblingElements() != null) {
Elements sibElemets = ele.siblingElements();
for (Element sibElemet : sibElemets) {
newVersion = sibElemet.text();
}
}
}
}
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
return newVersion;
}
@Override
protected void onPostExecute(String onlineVersion) {
super.onPostExecute(onlineVersion);
if (onlineVersion != null && !onlineVersion.isEmpty()) {
if (Float.valueOf(currentVersion) < Float.valueOf(onlineVersion)) {
//show anything
}
}
Log.d("update", "Current version " + currentVersion + "playstore version " + onlineVersion);
}
}
and don't forget to add JSoup library
dependencies {
compile 'org.jsoup:jsoup:1.8.3'}
and on Oncreate()
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
String currentVersion;
try {
currentVersion = getPackageManager().getPackageInfo(getPackageName(), 0).versionName;
} catch (PackageManager.NameNotFoundException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
new GetVersionCode().execute();
}
that's it.. Thanks to this link
Firebase Remote Config could be a possible and reliable solution for now, since google didn't expose any api to it.
Check Firebase Remote Config Docs
Steps 1.Create a firebase project and add google_play_service.json to your project
2.Create keys like "android_latest_version_code" and "android_latest_version_name" in firebase console->Remote Config
3.Android Code
public void initializeFirebase() {
if (FirebaseApp.getApps(mContext).isEmpty()) {
FirebaseApp.initializeApp(mContext, FirebaseOptions.fromResource(mContext));
}
final FirebaseRemoteConfig config = FirebaseRemoteConfig.getInstance();
FirebaseRemoteConfigSettings configSettings = new FirebaseRemoteConfigSettings.Builder()
.setDeveloperModeEnabled(BuildConfig.DEBUG)
.build();
config.setConfigSettings(configSettings);
}
Get current version name and code
int playStoreVersionCode = FirebaseRemoteConfig.getInstance().getString(
"android_latest_version_code");
PackageInfo pInfo = this.getPackageManager().getPackageInfo(getPackageName(), 0);
int currentAppVersionCode = pInfo.versionCode;
if(playStoreVersionCode>currentAppVersionCode){
//Show update popup or whatever best for you
}
4. And keep firebase "android_latest_version_code" and "android_latest_version_name" upto date with your current production version name and code.
Firebase remote config works on both Android and IPhone.
Inside OnCreate method write below code..
VersionChecker versionChecker = new VersionChecker();
try {
latestVersion = versionChecker.execute().get();
Toast.makeText(getBaseContext(), latestVersion , Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
} catch (InterruptedException | ExecutionException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
this gives you play store version of app..
then you have to check app version as below
PackageManager manager = getPackageManager();
PackageInfo info = null;
try {
info = manager.getPackageInfo(getPackageName(), 0);
} catch (PackageManager.NameNotFoundException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
assert info != null;
version = info.versionName;
after that you can compare it with store version and setup your own update screens
if(version.equals(latestVersion)){
Toast.makeText(getBaseContext(), "No Update" , Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}else {
Toast.makeText(getBaseContext(), "Update" , Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
And add VersionChecker.class as below
public class VersionChecker extends AsyncTask<String, String, String> {
private String newVersion;
@Override
protected String doInBackground(String... params) {
try {
newVersion = Jsoup.connect("https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=" + "package name" + "&hl=en")
.timeout(30000)
.userAgent("Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; WindowsNT 5.1; en-US; rv1.8.1.6) Gecko/20070725 Firefox/2.0.0.6")
.referrer("http://www.google.com")
.get()
.select(".hAyfc .htlgb")
.get(7)
.ownText();
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
return newVersion;
}
}
There is no official GooglePlay API to do it.
But you can use this unofficial library to get app version data.
And, if the above doesn't work for you, you can always http connect to your app's page (e.g. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.shots.android&hl=en) and parse the "Current Version" field.
Set up a server that exposes an HTTP url that reports the latest version, then use an AlarmManager to call that URL and see if the version on the device is the same as the latest version. If it isn't pop up a message or notification and send them to the market to upgrade.
There are some code examples: How to allow users to check for the latest app version from inside the app?
There's AppUpdater library. How to include:
- Add the repository to your project build.gradle:
allprojects { repositories { jcenter() maven { url "https://jitpack.io" } } }
- Add the library to your module build.gradle:
dependencies { compile 'com.github.javiersantos:AppUpdater:2.6.4' }
- Add INTERNET and ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE permissions to your app's Manifest:
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/> <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE"/>
- Add this to your activity:
AppUpdater appUpdater = new AppUpdater(this); appUpdater.start();
Coming From a Hybrid Application POV. This is a javascript example, I have a Update Available footer on my main menu. If an update is available (ie. my version number within the config file is less than the version retrieved, display the footer) This will then direct the user to the app/play store, where the user can then click the update button.
I also get the whats new data (ie Release Notes) and display these in a modal on login if its the first time on this version.
On device Ready, set your store URL
if (device.platform == 'iOS')
storeURL = 'https://itunes.apple.com/lookup?bundleId=BUNDLEID';
else
storeURL = 'https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=BUNDLEID';
The Update Available method can be ran as often as you like. Mine is ran every time the user navigates to the home screen.
function isUpdateAvailable() {
if (device.platform == 'iOS') {
$.ajax(storeURL, {
type: "GET",
cache: false,
dataType: 'json'
}).done(function (data) {
isUpdateAvailable_iOS(data.results[0]);
}).fail(function (jqXHR, textStatus, errorThrown) {
commsErrorHandler(jqXHR, textStatus, false);
});
} else {
$.ajax(storeURL, {
type: "GET",
cache: false
}).done(function (data) {
isUpdateAvailable_Android(data);
}).fail(function (jqXHR, textStatus, errorThrown) {
commsErrorHandler(jqXHR, textStatus, false);
});
}
}
iOS Callback: Apple have an API, so very easy to get
function isUpdateAvailable_iOS (data) {
var storeVersion = data.version;
var releaseNotes = data.releaseNotes;
// Check store Version Against My App Version ('1.14.3' -> 1143)
var _storeV = parseInt(storeVersion.replace(/\./g, ''));
var _appV = parseInt(appVersion.substring(1).replace(/\./g, ''));
$('#ft-main-menu-btn').off();
if (_storeV > _appV) {
// Update Available
$('#ft-main-menu-btn').text('Update Available');
$('#ft-main-menu-btn').click(function () {
openStore();
});
} else {
$('#ft-main-menu-btn').html(' ');
// Release Notes
settings.updateReleaseNotes('v' + storeVersion, releaseNotes);
}
}
Android Callback: PlayStore you have to scrape, as you can see the version is relatively easy to grab and the whats new i take the html instead of the text as this way I can use their formatting (ie new lines etc)
function isUpdateAvailable_Android(data) {
var html = $(data);
var storeVersion = html.find('div[itemprop=softwareVersion]').text().trim();
var releaseNotes = html.find('.whatsnew')[0].innerHTML;
// Check store Version Against My App Version ('1.14.3' -> 1143)
var _storeV = parseInt(storeVersion.replace(/\./g, ''));
var _appV = parseInt(appVersion.substring(1).replace(/\./g, ''));
$('#ft-main-menu-btn').off();
if (_storeV > _appV) {
// Update Available
$('#ft-main-menu-btn').text('Update Available');
$('#ft-main-menu-btn').click(function () {
openStore();
});
} else {
$('#ft-main-menu-btn').html(' ');
// Release Notes
settings.updateReleaseNotes('v' + storeVersion, releaseNotes);
}
}
The open store logic is straight forward, but for completeness
function openStore() {
var url = 'https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/appname/idUniqueID';
if (device.platform != 'iOS')
url = 'https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=appid'
window.open(url, '_system')
}
Ensure Play Store and App Store have been Whitelisted:
<access origin="https://itunes.apple.com"/>
<access origin="https://play.google.com"/>
Source: Stackoverflow.com