The situation
An app is released to Google Play as apk. First release back in 2018, several apk updates since. Now as is required from Google (pr. August / November 2021), the format needs to be app-bundle instead of apk when updating the app.
I successfully build the app-bundle and uploaded to Google Play Console. I released the build on 'internal test' track. All seems to be just fine.
The problem
However, no matter what I do, I keep seeing and downloading the latest apk-version instead of the new app-bundle version.
The latest apk version-code is "400126/200126" (x64/x86). The latest app-bundle version-code is "131".
I first thought it could be a problem that 131 < 400126 (obviously), so I created a new release on the 'internal test' track without any artifact - in the hope that could sort of 'reset' the state - and then creating a new release with the "131" app-bundle again. However no luck in getting the app-bundle version on my devices.
Besides I tried these things with no luck
- Unsubscribing and re-subscribing the 'internal track' a dozens of times.
- Removed and re-added my Google-id email from the set of 'testers' on Google Play a dozens of times.
- Cleared the Google Play cache on my devices.
- Installing from Web a dozens of times. Always ending up getting the latest apk-version installed. But actually, when entering my App on Google Play Web, it still shows the latest apk-version, even though it tells me (correctly) that this is a beta-version (indicating that I, indeed, is registered as internal tester). This, at least, is consistent with the fact that I keep download and finding only the latest apk in Google Play app on my phone-device, and not the app-bundle.
BUT! How do I get my new app-bundle available on the 'internal test'? All suggestions are more than welcome. Thanks!
I ended up creating a ticket at Google Support. They quickly replied that I simply needed to increase the build-number to > 400126. That makes a lot of sense.
However, we had another app where this was not needed - but that might be because the app had not yet been promoted to production at the time?