Compatibility Issue with Apps on LineageOS

Question

I am developing an app using Flutter and have encountered an issue where it is marked as incompatible in the Google Play Store on devices running LineageOS 21. Despite the app working correctly when manually installed from an APK, it does not appear compatible when accessed directly through the Google Play Store. This behavior occurs specifically with the LineageOS custom ROM, raising questions about potential issues either within the Flutter framework or the Google Play Store's handling of device compatibility checks on custom ROMs. Here are the detailed steps and observations related to this issue.

Steps to reproduce:

1. Install LineageOS 21 Nightly Build (e.g., lineage-21.0-20240525-nightly-bonito-signed.zip) on a device such as Google Pixel 3a XL.
2. Install Google services using MindTheGapps (e.g., MindTheGapps-14.0.0-arm64-20240225_232108.zip).
3. Set up a Google account and attempt to locate the app on the Google Play Store or access directly via the app's Play Store URL.
4. Observe the incompatibility message displayed on the Google Play Store.

Actual results:

The app shows as incompatible on devices running LineageOS 21 when accessed via the Google Play Store, despite the app functioning properly when manually installed.

What I Tried and What I Was Expecting

I attempted to distribute my Flutter app via the Google Play Store to devices running LineageOS 21, expecting it to be discoverable and downloadable just like on devices with standard Android versions. To test this, I used the same Google account to search for the app on another Pixel device running the official Android 14, where I could easily find and download the app from the Google Play Store. However, when attempting the same process on a device running LineageOS 21, the app was flagged as incompatible, which was unexpected given its availability and functionality on other Android devices. Despite this, I manually installed the APK on the LineageOS device and found that the app operated without any issues, further confirming that the app itself is compatible with LineageOS. This discrepancy in app accessibility between LineageOS and standard Android versions was surprising and leads me to suspect a potential compatibility or recognition issue within the Flutter framework or the Google Play Store's handling of custom ROMs.

I have discovered an intriguing new phenomenon regarding the visibility of app in the Google Play Store. When the user join our internal testing program through this link, the app becomes searchable and accessible in the Play Store. However, upon exiting the internal test, the app once again becomes unsearchable.

Answer 1

Alright, here’s how I tackled the little hiccup where my Flutter app was playing hide and seek on the Google Play Store with devices rockin’ LineageOS 21. Initially, my app was all set up with those tight integrity checks in the Google Play Console, which, mind you, kinda puts a damper on visibility for the devices that don’t cozy up to Google’s integrity standards—yep, talking about those cool custom ROMs like LineageOS.

So, what did I do? Well, I went ahead and tweaked the setting in the Google Play Console to "No integrity check." Voilà! This move should, in theory, make the app show up for all devices, no matter the OS they’re dancing with. And guess what? It worked like a charm when I gave it a whirl by joining our internal testing program, which sneakily skipped past those usual integrity checks and bam! The app was out there, visible and searchable.

This whole episode really shines a light on how crucial it is to get a handle on the settings in the Google Play Console, especially the ones that mess with how your app shows up on different devices. For my fellow devs bumping into similar snags, take a gander at your app’s integrity check settings in the console.

Hope this little story from my end helps anyone scratching their heads over app visibility on custom ROMs.