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I own a paid app, which I refactored almost completely within the last weeks. Now I want to update and am now facing the issue that:

  1. Just updating the app would make users lose all their data as also internal structues have changed. -> no-go

    Furthermore as I got rid of a lot of compatibility stuff and are now targeting only Android > 4 I would be unable to provide separate fixes for pre Androdi 4 targets.

  2. Releasing as new App (2.0 or something) would exclude existing users who already paid.

Per se I prefer option 2 as existing users would not be affected and I would still be able to provide limited support to older devices. I also like the idea of being able to restart again.

But, how can I enable users of my old version to use the new one without having to pay again?

  • ignoring this issue will make them angry (of course)
  • android promotional codes are limited to 500 per quarter. Like this it would only take three years if about half of my active users would upgrade
  • releasing a free version with in app purchases and provide existing users with a code / check if paid verion is installed -> too much compatibility stuff to consider. Also I like it to directly see the costs of an app and not having "hidden" costs.
  • Refunding as (as proposed in https://stackoverflow.com/a/14694981/570168) also does not seem to pe a practical solution for me (considering the mass of affected transactions).

Am I'm missing any other option?

Community
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Tobias
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3 Answers3

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You could add a Content Provider to your old app that returns the purchase state.

http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/providers/content-providers.html

Consume that Content Provider from your new app to determine whether the user has paid.

The downside to this is that the user would need both apps installed to take advantage. The original app would essentially become an "unlock key" for the new one.

Kuffs
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  • This is almost like my "solution #3" – Tobias Feb 28 '16 at 02:55
  • I only see option 1 & 2. Your options are very limited as you have already discounted the best options. I would just add a function to upgrade your users to the new version and release as the same app. You can still upload multiple apk's for the pre and post 4 users. – Kuffs Feb 28 '16 at 09:01
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I now just released an update which creates a backup in the background. So I will wait a few days or maybe weeks for most of my users to update an then publish that new app which will then import the previously created backup.

Tobias
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From option 3:) I think you need one back-end database of existing user which are currently using your app. for that you need to release one update and collect all user information which are using your app then after you need to release app with in-app purchase that enable paid user to use your service.

Piyush
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