Android app not shown as "update available" in Market

Question

I have an app on the android market, which I periodically update with new versions. On my android handset, i often see "update available" notification for many apps, including google maps, skype, opera, etc. However when I upload a new version of my own app, I never see this notification for my own app.

I just did a clean test: uninstalled the app from my phone completely, then install the app from the market. After this I uploaded/activated/saved new version and waited until it's available (i.e. the app's page indicates the new version). Now, on the handset, I open "market", navigate to "my apps". A couple of apps (skype and opera) are showing that update is available, however mine is not.

I then search for my app and select its details. I can install it from there and it replaces the previous version, keeping the data - so the actual update process works correctly.

So, what controls this "update available" notification for an app? I'd like users of my app to see that updates are available.

Thanks in advance.

Edit: I do update versionCode and versionName in my manifest.

Answer 1

The App manifest should be updated each and every time you give an update to your app. Update the "Version Number" to anything and increment "Version Code" by 1 (I do the same).. That should probably say the info of new update available in the notification area.

Answer 2

Not quite sure what the problem was, however now the update notification is showing correctly. I re-uploaded old apk to the market and reactivated it. I then waited a day and uploaded the new apk and activated it. After a day or so the update notification is now showing.

Thanks to all that replied.

Answer 3

If you have not updated the version code of your app in the manifest, it wont be considered as an update and no one will be notified.
Its is done this way:
< manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" package="t.t.t" android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

Answer 4

Within your AndroidManifest.xml check the values versionCode and versionName

Quote from developer.android.com:

android:versionCode — An integer value that represents the version of the application code, relative to other versions. The value is an integer so that other applications can programmatically evaluate it, for example to check an upgrade or downgrade relationship. You can set the value to any integer you want, however you should make sure that each successive release of your application uses a greater value. The system does not enforce this behavior, but increasing the value with successive releases is normative. Typically, you would release the first version of your application with versionCode set to 1, then monotonically increase the value with each release, regardless whether the release constitutes a major or minor release. This means that the android:versionCode value does not necessarily have a strong resemblance to the application release version that is visible to the user (see android:versionName, below). Applications and publishing services should not display this version value to users.

android:versionName — A string value that represents the release version of the application code, as it should be shown to users. The value is a string so that you can describe the application version as a .. string, or as any other type of absolute or relative version identifier. As with android:versionCode, the system does not use this value for any internal purpose, other than to enable applications to display it to users. Publishing services may also extract the android:versionName value for display to users.

Answer 5

You should have some patience and wait to replicate data between Google Servers. Your phone should receive update notification after that.