Android APK file: Re-activate older APK file in Google Play Store

Question

I have uploaded two APK files into the Google Play store. One is a newer version and one is an older version. The newer version is the active one since it has a higher versionName and Code. Now I found some bugs in the newer version and I want to delete it from the Play Store and activate the older version. Google Play won't let me deactivate the newer one and activate the older one again, since it has a lower versionName and code. The problem is that I'm am not the developer and did not build the app. The developer is in another country and it is difficult to get hold of them.

What can I do to reactivate the older version again? I know one solution would be to change the versionName and Code. I only have the apk file, can I change those details in Eclipse with only the apk file and very little experience in eclipse or developing android apps?

Thank You

Answer 1

You can't rebuild a new version of an apk from the apk itself.
Have the app developer do the following:

1. Rebuild project in its previous state with higher version number (must be higher than all previously submitted versions)
2. Resubmit

From Google's Android "Developer Console" page:

Note that rollbacks aren’t supported due to the app versioning requirements of the Android platform. If you need to rollback, consider launching a previous APK with a new version number. However, this practice should be used only as a last resort, as users will lose access to new features and your old app may not be forward-compatible with your server changes or data formats, so be sure to run alpha and beta tests of your updates.

Answer 2

A good strategy is, when creating a build, modify the manifest to build say a version 2.0 = 39 AND again 2.05 = 45 and generate these two apks which will obviously do the same thing.

Later, when build 2.01 = 40 is in production and you find an error, you can jump back to the old version by uploading the 2.05 = 45 you created earlier.

You have 5 opportunities to back track while releasing 40, 41, 42, 43 and 44 to go back to earlier functionality!

Do this for each build and you can always go back to an earlier version which has been pre compiled and built but with a higher version number than currently in production.

Answer 3

You will not be able to change the APK file without having the signing certificate.

You should be able to revert to an older version, assuming you didn't change the level of API support.