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I've just finished making some updates for a company's Android app, only to realize that they no longer have the private key that was used to sign the original release that went to the Android Market. If I understand correctly, this means that these changes can't be released as an update to the original app. I think the best option is to pull the original app from the market (it doesn't have many downloads or reviews) and re-release the app signed with a new key. However, I'm worried that Android Market might not allow an app to be released which is practically identical to an app that has already been released (e.g. same name, same icon, mostly the same functionality, etc.).

Has anyone been in this situation before? Did google allow you to re-release as a separate app to the Android Market?

jjoelson
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You are correct in that you will have to release this as a new application with a different package name. You will have to pull the other app from the Market as it will no longer be updateable and your users will have to redownload the new version of the app.

I don't see any reason why Google would have any issues with this, it's a known issue that some developers/companies can come across when they loose their signing key. Also, as far as I know, Google doesn't closely monitor incoming apps unless they are being flagged.

I've seen some apps that have 10 versions of the same app in the Market, just so that they can have more visibility, which is something that I think Google needs to look out for.

hooked82
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  • Thanks. I'm now trying to stress to this company the importance of holding on to their private key and backing it up. :) – jjoelson Nov 06 '11 at 00:48
  • As you should. I've got mine in source control, a jump drive and also a CD at somebody else's house, should my house ever burn down :) – hooked82 Nov 06 '11 at 01:39
  • I have it 7zipped into my Gmail and Hotmail account with a well known password of mine, besides having it in my computer and an usb drive. Should be enough! :-) – davidcesarino Nov 06 '11 at 03:26
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If you just forgot password. https://code.google.com/archive/p/android-keystore-password-recover/

If you replaced the existing key file. 1.Rename your package name. 2.Generate new signed apk but this time keep copy of the key and never lose it if you want to update your existing app.

user2867654
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I had a similar thing happen, and we had to change the package name even after pulling the original application from the market. I assume this is to protect users from 'accidentally' downloading a malicious update to an application they already have.

As of about August of this year (2011), the Android market has had the capability of uploading multiple APK's for the same package name. You should be able to remove the original APK and substitute a new one with the same package name now using that mechanism.

I haven't tried it yet, but we were able to upload multiple copies of our different applications that targeted specific platforms and it worked like a charm.

John O'Connor
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