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I encountered The following issue on two samsung galaxy s4 devices:

When trying to install a newer version of an by clicking an APK file in an email message it works o.k.. If trying to install another new copy from a new APK over the previously installed one it also work.

But if the original version from google play is installed and we try to install the APK from the email we get a message App not installed and obviously the app does not get installed...

just to clarify - both the versions are written by me, both signed and use the same ID. and there is a major version number change between them.

How can I know if things will go o.k. if I submit the new version to Google play?
Is there an official limit that refers the the source of installation having to be the same for an update?
Is there any way to override this limit?

UPDATE:

I followed the advice given by @GiantTree in this conmment

I installed a terminal emulator and executed pm install -r mypackage.apk which gave something like 60 lines saying try again in 1second (missing space in original message) then it said twice failed to connect to dumpstate service and finally killed.

Executing logcat >log.txt I found the line: `java.lang.SecurityException:

Neither user 10210 nor current process has android.permission.INSTALL_PACKAGES.

UPDATE 2:

upon better examining of the log file I found this line:

D/InstallAppProgress( 8973): Installation error code: -25

but I can't find what does this error code means...

Still Looking for further suggestions...

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    Are you by any chance trying to install an older version over a newer one? // With the exact error message (and number), you might also wish to take a look into the list of errors in our google-play-store tag-wiki.
    – Izzy
    Commented Dec 25, 2014 at 15:29
  • @Izzy - you where right - my version code was accidentally lower then the one in my production version. please add as an answer and I will accept.
    – epeleg
    Commented Dec 29, 2014 at 7:23
  • Done! Now that you've updated your question with the error code, I've even found a reference. I knew it sounded familiar, but couldn't find that initially.
    – Izzy
    Commented Dec 29, 2014 at 7:46
  • Yep, only that this reference did not have the answer within it until I placed it there :)
    – epeleg
    Commented Dec 29, 2014 at 11:06

3 Answers 3

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This error often occurs when you try to install an older version over an already-installed newer version of the same app. If that's really what you intend to do, you might first have to uninstall and then re-install the app in question. To not lose its data, you can try uninstalling via adb uninstall -k <package>: this would uninstall the app, but keep (-k) its data.

For further details, you might also wish to see:

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There is no limit for anything. As long as the package name and the used signature remain the same it's considered the same application. Try to install using adb: adb install -r <apk>

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  • if you have the apk already on your phone try using terminal emulator and run that command. Alternatively try pm install -r <apk> on your phone; that is what adb does, too.
    – GiantTree
    Commented Dec 25, 2014 at 19:15
  • Might also be helpful that I say that the device is not rooted AFAIK.
    – epeleg
    Commented Dec 25, 2014 at 20:15
  • Oh. I thought you'd be able to install applications without system permissions. Try installing with the standard method again and check the logcat. It should say why the application can't be installed.
    – GiantTree
    Commented Dec 25, 2014 at 20:30
  • Let us continue this discussion in chat.
    – epeleg
    Commented Dec 25, 2014 at 20:48
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Even if the version is newer, I have not been able to install an custom downloaded app over the same app but Google play version. I have experienced this several times with different apps while testing.

I have had to uninstall the Google play version and then only was allowed to install downloaded application. In fact the app installation will proceed till the very end when the installer displays error.

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  • you should look into the versionCode for both those versions and make sure the new one is higher than that of the old version... Maybe there are other reasons why such an update would fail - but for me it was the versionCode.
    – epeleg
    Commented Dec 29, 2014 at 11:08
  • Ok, will do so if I get an error like that again. What happens if the version is the same? (Like in a beta update)
    – One Face
    Commented Dec 29, 2014 at 12:30
  • I did not test it so I don't know. logically I would expect it to work... but just try and see for your self.
    – epeleg
    Commented Dec 29, 2014 at 14:49
  • Ok will try next time. The problem is I am not a dev only a tester.
    – One Face
    Commented Dec 29, 2014 at 14:55

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