UIAutomator on android lower than 4.3

Question

Is it possible to use UIautomator on api < 18? Main purpose of auto-tests is regression testing and devices with android 4.1, 4.2 should also be tested. Maybe UIautomator library versions lower than 2.0 can be used, but i cant find any info about previous versions.

Answer 1

Add an androidTest specific AndroidManifest.xml to your project that contains the following:

<manifest
    package="${applicationId}.test"
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools">

    <uses-sdk tools:overrideLibrary="android.support.test.uiautomator.v18"/>
</manifest>

This will get merged with your default AndroidManifest.xml and allow you to keep your minSDK for your production app, and allow you to test using UIAutomator.