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How to publish an app for android on your own website?

Discussion in 'Android' started by Hattoriseed, Feb 24, 2018.

  1. Hattoriseed

    Hattoriseed

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    Hi there!

    Does anyone know how to publish an app on android without having to go through the play store or other Android store services? We have developed a VR app that will be sold in a subscription method, like with Unity or other software we will sell a license that will be valid for a set period of time.

    Our application is aimed at a very specific target market and we do our contracts directly with each company (clients), so we wish to be able to allow our customers to download our app from our own website, but without having to get them to enable the developer option on their devices like we do when testing our APK.

    On the same note, do you guys suggest any asset or know of a good method to enable updates on our app? Considering that we will not have the option to update our APK like we would usually do when publishing on the play store, we need to sort out the updating method ourselves.

    Thanks beforehand for all your suggestions!
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2018
  2. JeffDUnity3D

    JeffDUnity3D

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    Could you just make your APK available for download on your website?
     
  3. Hattoriseed

    Hattoriseed

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    Yes I could, but it wouldnt have android authentication, so my customers would need to enable developer options on their smartphones to install the app, and when put an update I will have to notify all my clients myself and they would need to uninstall the current apk before installing the new one and then enter their serial number again.
     
  4. User340

    User340

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    I too am interested in this. An entry in the Unity Manual would be much appreciated.
     
  5. JeffDUnity3D

    JeffDUnity3D

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    @Hattoriseed Can you elaborate as to "Android Authentication"? I can use a browser on my device and download and install an APK without issue. You could use Unity Remote Settings to turn on an Upgrade flag in the app to encourage or force users to upgrade.
     
  6. Hattoriseed

    Hattoriseed

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    @JeffDUnity3D Well, so far when I have developed for Android when I create a build and I install it directly without putting the APK on Google Play and to download it from the store. I have not been able to launch the application, I can only do it by going to Settings > Developer options > Debugging and enabling USB debugging.

    I would like my customers to be able to download and install the app from our website but without the need of enabling the Developer options, and that it could run just like if it had been authenticated by Google Play.
     
  7. JeffDUnity3D

    JeffDUnity3D

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    Do you get an error when trying to launch the application installed from a direct download? Or are you not able to install?
     
  8. Hattoriseed

    Hattoriseed

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    Last edited: Feb 27, 2018
  9. JeffDUnity3D

    JeffDUnity3D

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    @Hattoriseed Yes, that tutorial is for debugging an Android application and using Unity to install your game via USB.
     
  10. Hattoriseed

    Hattoriseed

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    @JeffDUnity3D So if I don't need to get Debug.Log messages for testing and I just want to play the app I should be able to install the app via USB or Download without enabling Developer Options?
     
  11. JeffDUnity3D

    JeffDUnity3D

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    I believe Developer Options are still required to install via USB. But direct download should work.
     
  12. Hattoriseed

    Hattoriseed

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    Oh great! I didn't know that, hopefully, it does work that way thanks, and also thank you for the advice about the updates, I didn't know about Unity Remote Settings either.
     
  13. Hattoriseed

    Hattoriseed

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    @JeffDUnity3D Just tried downloading APK from Dropbox and I still couldn't install it, I had to enable developer options, do you have any other suggestion I could try to host my own app and that could be installed without developer options in Android smartphones?
     
  14. JuliusM

    JuliusM

    Unity Technologies

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    Did you sign the application with your own key or did you use the development key (default) to sign it?
     
  15. Hattoriseed

    Hattoriseed

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    @JuliusM are you referring to my Android Developer Key or the keystore created in Unity on Publishing settings?

    We added a keystore and key in Unity before publishing but we haven't signed the application with any Android Developer Key as we don't want to publish in Google Play, I didn't know it was required. Could you please share with me a link to a tutorial for this?

    Can I register the application with Google Play and assign a developer key even when I am not publishing in Google Play and I am not using any of their services? Our apps are made for specific clients and are meant to be used by them and not distributed to a public audience. So it doesn't seem logical to publish in Google Play and pay a 15% or 30% when we don't need their service apart from an easy way to distribute the app.

    Thanks for your help
     
  16. JeffDUnity3D

    JeffDUnity3D

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    Did you ensure to check "Unknown Sources" under Security on the device? This should allow your users to install apps other than from Google Play without enabling Developer Options.
     
  17. Hattoriseed

    Hattoriseed

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    @JeffDUnity3D is the "Unknown Sources" option on Unity's Player settings? where can I find that option?
     
  18. JeffDUnity3D

    JeffDUnity3D

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    The Unknown Sources setting is listed under Settings/Security on the device.
     
  19. Hattoriseed

    Hattoriseed

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    So I have to ask all our clients to change the settings on their phones if they want to install our app, I was hoping for a non-intrusive solution, that wouldn't be too different than asking them to enable developer options.

    Ideally, they would simply install the app like they would from Google Play without having to change the vulnerability of their devices.
     
  20. JeffDUnity3D

    JeffDUnity3D

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    Yes, that is correct and is part of Android security.
     
  21. Hattoriseed

    Hattoriseed

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    I see, well thanks for your help