What does this Google Play APK publish error message mean?

Question

I'm trying to publish a new version of my Android app to Google Play and get the following error?

This configuration cannot be published for the following reason(s): Version 1 is not served to any device configuration: all devices that might receive version 1 would receive version 4

I don't understand it. What does it mean?

enter image description here

I guess it says that your version 1 cannot be instaleld in any device because google cant find any device where it can be installed so version 4 will be installed instead — Vytautas, Apr 17 '13 at 13:15
Well... I'm not allowed to publish v4 because of this error message so that gives be a bit of a problem. Also I think you're wrong - v1 can be installed on *all* devices. — Nilzor, Apr 17 '13 at 13:18
then maybe there is two active versions with same devices supported so google does not know with one to use and uses vith higher version but inform you that version one will be newer used — Vytautas, Apr 17 '13 at 13:22
Okay I'm just guessing but if you can just archive version one and I think everything will be okay. also why your versions goes up from 1 to 4? — Vytautas, Apr 17 '13 at 13:26
Actually I got it working by uploading once more and clicking "Publish" right away in the first dialog instead of drafting to publish later. I'm closing this as too localized. Maybe there's a bug in Google Play. As for version numbers, I have a parallel ad-based version of the same app which have increased from 1.2 and 1.3 in the meantime so it's just to keep the version numbes synced. — Nilzor, Apr 17 '13 at 13:31
I have solved this in my case as, when click "Archive" button belongs to the current APK,then Publish button is enabled by default for newly uploaded APK — Master Mind, May 07 '13 at 18:26
Archive the old one, or they'll co-exist, in order to serve different configurations specifically. — Evi Song, May 11 '13 at 10:30
click "Deactivate" button belongs to the current APK,then Publish button is enabled by default for newly uploaded APK — Master Mind, Jun 19 '13 at 15:19
@Nilzor You're probably in console advanced mode. Consider switching to Simple Mode (top right button), and you'll likely not see this error, and have simpler options to choose from. — Gili Nachum, Jul 06 '13 at 19:29
@GiliNachum no this is not the problem. I am experience the same problem and I tried your solution but nothing works — George Pligoropoulos, Jul 08 '13 at 16:36
My issue is not to just get rid of this error. I actually need to publish a version in Draft mode in order to test the in-app purchase mechanism. How will I do that? Thanks! — George Pligoropoulos, Jul 08 '13 at 16:42
@george-pligor: Can't you use the new Alpha/Beta functionality for that? Apps in draft-mode are never published. That is not an error. — Nilzor, Jul 09 '13 at 08:56
@Nilzor Actually I wanted to avoid using signed apks for testing in app purchases but this is not possible. Thanks I will give it a try with the beta/alpha — George Pligoropoulos, Jul 09 '13 at 10:12
I just got this error and reached this page. Not sure why the question was closed as too localized when the error can appear to any Android developer on Google Play. The question and comments led me to deactivate my old version, but it would be nice to see the question opened to its appropriate, useful state. — Danny, Jul 25 '13 at 23:20

score 304 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 29 '13 at 22:21

304

This happened to me when I published two APKs (versions 3 and then 4) in a short space of time. Clicking "Deactivate" on the dropdown next to version 3 appeared to fix it.

My guess is that this is a very-poorly-worded error message meaning something like "your original APK hasn't been published to all the update servers yet, so some of them may miss that version entirely". But it's a bit of a guess.

answered Jul 29 '13 at 22:21

Chris Rae

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Clicking `Deactivate` on previous version apk won't enable `Move to Production` in newer version. Seems like older version saying `in Prod will be unpublished`. _So should i wait till it get unpublished from all Google Play Servers?_ – Vikalp Patel Jun 05 '14 at 10:45
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But what if I don't want to deactivate the old version and instead to a step release for the new one? So they should coexist for a while until the old one will be replaced completely././ – Makibo Jun 24 '14 at 01:29
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@VikalpPatel it worked for me. The "Publish Now" button becomes enabled after the old apk is deactivated. – faizal Nov 17 '14 at 11:00
if you're in the beta testing tab, i don't see a "deactivate" option in the dropdown next to what would be your 'version 3' – Lou Morda Dec 18 '14 at 18:04
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@LouisMorda if you switch to advance mode using the toggle button on the top left hand corner in APK tab of the developer console you will be able to deactivate your old APK – Mr.Noob Mar 26 '15 at 07:56
What was the difference in days or time between your 2 publishes ? – Muhammad Riyaz Jun 19 '15 at 15:29
@ChrisRae if I deactivate old version & publish new version, then will it be published as update i.e. will users see an update button when they open My Apps page in Play Store? – Osama Mohammed Shaikh Nov 21 '15 at 14:37
@OsamaMohammedShaikh I believe so, yes. – Chris Rae Nov 24 '15 at 08:45
not sure why this is the accepted answer or has so many votes. looks wrong to me – Daniele Segato Mar 14 '16 at 22:42
I clicked `Deactivate` on the old version, then on the upper right side `Submit update`, then the status of my new version changed to `In prod` as I wanted. – Attila Tanyi Apr 07 '16 at 16:54

Daniele Segato · Answer 2 · 2015-01-16T11:11:49.097

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For some reason when you upload a new APK without immediately clicking "publish" (you probably clicked save draft the first time), Google thinks you want to publish BOTH apk at the same time.

This is usually needed when you have multiple APK for different configuration (say: a version for android 2.x and another for 3+ or a version for tablet and another for handset etc...)

However in your case you are just uploading an upgrade and you want it to replace your previous APK.

To solve:

Click on the Switch to Advanced Mode on the top right
Click on Action -> Move on the OLD APK and choose "Deactivate"
The error should go away and you should see your OLD apk in "OTHER APKS" and the new one ready to be published.
Just click Publish to make your change effective and wait for them to propagate.

The Google warning is missleading. Hope this clarify it.

edited Jan 16 '15 at 11:11

answered Dec 03 '13 at 15:04

Daniele Segato

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The "Publish Now" button is in the top left. It does not show up under "Actions". Only "move to beta" and "move to alpha" appear under "Actions". – William Neely Apr 30 '15 at 13:14
@WilliamNeely you need to switch to advanced mode first – Daniele Segato May 28 '15 at 07:06
Hi @DanieleSegato does it effect to the current APK, when I "Deactivate"? – Oshadha Jan 15 '16 at 16:59
@Oshadha it effects the APK you click upon when you chose deactivate. – Daniele Segato Jan 18 '16 at 09:25

score 9 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 14 '13 at 22:07

I have solved the same problem with my app. I must upload from version 1.0 to the version 2.0. - I have uploaded the v2.0 in Beta. - When it was uploaded, I have DEACTIVATED the v1.0 in the PROD. - Next step was to MOVE the v2.0 to PROD from the BETA. - Then, the PUBLISH button was activated to finish the process. I hope it helps.!

score 6 · Answer 4 · answered Jan 27 '14 at 13:01

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The solution of @Chris is right. But what the message really means is:

version1 and version4 has the same configuration: same API level, same screen resolution... bascially everything in manifest...
So this means any device can install version can install version4, too.
Now everything is clear: since version4 has higher versionCode, every devices will recieve the version4 instead version1.

There's no meaning still put version1 "in production" anymore. Under no circumstance any device would recieve this version. So you should "deactivate" it.

answered Jan 27 '14 at 13:01

Fmy

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This is the correct explanation. In my view, they should add an option "OK - Disable version1 and Enable version4 for release" to solve the issue. – lkraider Sep 29 '16 at 19:57
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one wonders why this doesn't happen automatically then, if it's so determinable. – Mike Campbell Oct 07 '16 at 08:34

score 2 · Answer 5 · answered Jan 09 '15 at 09:05

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This may be a hack, but you can workaround this by doing staged rollout to 1-50%, then increase it to 100%.

This case the error message does not prevent publishing your app and also you don't have to deactivate anything.

answered Jan 09 '15 at 09:05

Marcell

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Hi @Marcell , how can i increase 100% , its taking 20 % new updates. please tell me steps to do 100% – Mohammad Arman Dec 01 '21 at 05:11

score 1 · Answer 6 · answered Apr 17 '13 at 13:07

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This is purely a guess but do you have a previous version uploaded? If so it might be that it's marketcode is set to something higher than your new build e.g. 4

answered Apr 17 '13 at 13:07

ScouseChris

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Yes I have a previous version. Screenshot added. I'm starting to think it has something to do with the "SCREEN LAYOUTS" column. I don't understand why it's limited to only "xlarge, large, medium and small" though - I have no such limitations in my manifest file – Nilzor Apr 17 '13 at 13:10

score 1 · Answer 7 · answered Jun 14 '15 at 15:22

I had a similar problem, but because my previous version had a lower maximum andorid api, I was not allowed to revert to previous version.

In the end for me it was a problem wit eclipse that was not saving the change to the manifext file. I restarted eclipse, saved my project, made an apk and then it worked. Maybe worth a try if the above answers fail.

score 0 · Answer 8 · answered Sep 08 '13 at 21:08

0

I just switched to the basic view. Which automatically replaces the current version with the new version immediately. That is of corse not suitable for every app deployment scenario. But should be all right in most (simple) cases.

answered Sep 08 '13 at 21:08

j7nn7k

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score 0 · Answer 9 · answered Sep 17 '13 at 20:34

You can only have one APK in production at a time. Before uploading you must deactivate the current one. The same goes for alpha and beta test APKs combined - you can only have one APK published for testing.

I agree the wording of the error message is appalling!

score 0 · Answer 10 · edited Jun 22 '14 at 10:52

0

I had the same issue, but I executed following command on my APK file

jarsigner -verify -verbose -certs Myapp.apk

then I uploaded the new APK on the play store and it published easily.

edited Jun 22 '14 at 10:52

Stephen Ostermiller

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answered Jun 22 '14 at 10:30

rajkirpalsinj

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`jarsigner -verify` is a read-only command; it does not change the existing APK so this will not do anything. – Matt Quigley Sep 13 '14 at 00:52

score 0 · Answer 11 · answered Nov 08 '14 at 15:38

I guess the console is telling your that u have two versions supporting the same devices so there is no reason to be using both

solution: remove the older one...
OR
if ur older version supports specific devices, mark that and the console will accept it

Kanda Runapongsa Saikaew · Answer 12 · 2016-07-28T02:02:32.483

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I also received that problem when I uploaded the APK at the first time but I noticed that API level 18-17 when viewing APK details. Therefore, I added this code to AndroidManifest.xml to specify the maximum API level

<uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="18"
        android:targetSdkVersion="23"
        android:maxSdkVersion="23" />

After doing this, the problem is solved :)

edited Jul 28 '16 at 02:02

answered Jul 28 '16 at 01:54

Kanda Runapongsa Saikaew

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score 0 · Answer 13 · answered Mar 29 '17 at 11:48

in my case an older version of apk was published in beta testing. while i was trying to update my app over already published app with new apk.

just moved my new apk to beta testing and unpublished the old apk from beta testing.

and then finally moved the new apk from beta to prod.

score 0 · Answer 14 · answered Sep 13 '17 at 06:43

0

I had the same problem i just DEACTIVATE the old apk which was currently active and then upload new apk. IT SOLVED my Problem

answered Sep 13 '17 at 06:43

Pir Fahim Shah

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how do you deactivate old APKs? seems that option in the UI doesn't exist anymore – knocte Aug 06 '18 at 15:23
Go to app release and check it there – Pir Fahim Shah Aug 07 '18 at 00:30

score -1 · Answer 15 · edited Apr 23 '14 at 13:52

-1

To resolve the issue, do the following:

delete the new apk that is in the draft mode
clear the history cach of the browser or use other browser and re-upload the apk

edited Apr 23 '14 at 13:52

K_B

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answered Apr 23 '14 at 13:29

Robert

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score -1 · Answer 16 · edited Jun 26 '14 at 10:33

-1

I had the same issue, but I resolved by Block Lint Errors.

See the Lint Error page, right corner packager icon, click there and block package. When you click for leaving lint error, the application make export singed application package.

enter image description here

edited Jun 26 '14 at 10:33

VladL

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answered Jun 26 '14 at 10:11

Vijay Maurya

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score -2 · Answer 17 · answered Jan 18 '16 at 15:29

-2

it happened to me, when I published new APK, but accidentally closed browser window without finishing submission.

answered Jan 18 '16 at 15:29

Marius Integrator

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What does this Google Play APK publish error message mean?

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