5,380 questions
Xamarin Forms - Cannot get In-app Updates from App Center to work
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Ganesh Gebhard
366
Reputation points
Hey!
I have an app in Xamarin Forms (Android & iOS), which is distributed in App Center. I'm trying to enable the option to perform an in-app update when a new build has been completed, but I cannot get this to work. I'm using the tutorial on Microsoft Learn: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/appcenter/sdk/distribute/xamarin#remove-in-app-updates-for-google-play-builds
What I tried to build is the option to manually check for updates by pressing on a button. This button is just doing..nothing when I press it, but maybe someone here had that problem before as well.
The code that I have are given below. This example is for Android first (since I'm testing on a phyical Android device), but it should work for iOS as well.
Packages
So first I have installed the App Center Distribution package. Not the latest version (4.2.0), since the build is App Center fails then because it cannot handle version 4.1.0+ (I spoke to someone from App Center to confirm this).
App.cs
Then in App.cs, I have the following code:
Where OnReleaseAvailable is the following (literally from the docs):
MainActivity (Android)
Then in the Android MainActivity, I added the option to enable this for debug builds:
Check for Update option
Then I have a button on a ContentPage to check for updates:
I believe I have everything then for this option, but when I press the button nothing happens, update found or no update found.
Does someone know what I'm missing here?
Best,
Ganesh
Developer technologies .NET Xamarin
{count} votes
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JarvanZhang 23,971 Reputation points2021-05-17T09:38:29.96+00:00 Hi, GaneshGebhard. Did you update the versionCode or versionName for the Android release. Android devices won't be prompted for an update if there's no change in versionCode or versionName.
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Ganesh Gebhard 366 Reputation points
2021-05-17T23:25:57.447+00:00 Aha, that makes a lot of sense. I thought the version number, which is generated based on the build number, was the version code, but now that you mention it this is false. How can I update the version code or version name with each release? Do I have to do this manually in Android Manifest? Or is there some kind of super efficient way? And how about iOS?
The reason I ask is because I make changes to the app, create commits and send these to DevOps. Once in a while, I'll update the app and I want the users to be able to update this from the app itself. Now it seems that I have to update the versionCode manually, commit this change and then build the solution in App Center. There must be a more efficient way to do this I suppose.
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JarvanZhang 23,971 Reputation points
2021-05-18T08:16:22.337+00:00 How can I update the version code or version name with each release?
We need to change the value manually in each release. In iOS, set the value of the CFBundleVersion key.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/xamarin/android/deploy-test/release-prep/?tabs=windows#version-the-applicationPlease try to update the version number when publish a new release to the AppCenter to check if the update will work.
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Ganesh Gebhard 366 Reputation points
2021-05-20T12:15:53.543+00:00 I updated the versionCode and versionName in Android and created a new build in App Center. When I pressed the update button, still nothing happens. Not even a message that nothing was found.
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JarvanZhang 23,971 Reputation points
2021-05-21T03:13:12.967+00:00 Here is the document about Enable In-App Updates, please make sure that all points have been met.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/appcenter/distribution/inappupdatesIf it still doesn't work, it's suggested to seek App Center support in its portal.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/appcenter/help#accessing-app-center-free-support
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