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Updating apps installed outside the Play Store

Apps installed via a downloaded APK/XAPK don't auto-update through the Play Store -- this covers how updates actually work for sideloaded apps, and how to check for them safely.

Sistema: Android 8.0+AndroidSideloadingSito ufficiale ↗Documentazione ufficiale ↗
Questa guida è redatta a partire dalla documentazione ufficiale di Updating apps installed outside the Play Store, linkata sopra — verifica sempre lì i nomi esatti di pacchetti/versioni prima di eseguire questi comandi su un server di produzione, poiché le versioni della distribuzione e del progetto cambiano nel tempo.

  1. 1Understand why the Play Store won't update it

    The Play Store only manages updates for apps it originally installed (or apps set up through Play's own "install from another source" tracking on newer Android versions). An app installed from a plain downloaded APK is invisible to the Play Store's update mechanism entirely.

  2. 2Check the original source for a newer version

    Revisit wherever you got the APK/XAPK from (this site, F-Droid, the developer's own GitHub Releases, etc.) periodically, or subscribe to update notifications if the source offers them -- MirrorNest's own "Watch for updates" button on a software page emails you when a new version publishes.

  3. 3Install the new version directly over the old one

    Downloading and tapping a newer APK of the same app updates it in place -- your app data is preserved, same as a normal Play Store update, as long as the new APK is signed with the same signing key as the installed one.

    If Android refuses the install with a signature-mismatch error, the new file was signed differently from what's installed (a different build/fork, or your existing install came from a different source) -- you'd need to uninstall the old version first, losing its local data, before installing the new one.

  4. 4For F-Droid-sourced apps specifically

    Installing the F-Droid client app itself (rather than a one-off APK from it) lets it check and notify you of updates for everything you installed through it, closer to how the Play Store behaves.