Updates on Android

How the Android app updates through Google Play, how a sideloaded APK updates, what an update does to a world hosted on the phone, and why the app and the servers it visits should stay in step.

Android app

Google Play

Play updates the app like any other; there is no in-app updater on Android. Settings, This app, shows the version and "Updates arrive through Google Play". Turn on auto-update for the app in Play if you host: a host on a newer version may not open in an older app.

Sideloaded APK

Download the newer APK from the releases page and install it over the old one. Android keeps the app's data, including your world. The APK and the Play build are signed differently, so switching between them means uninstalling first, which deletes the world; export the characters and workshops you want to keep before you do.

What an update does to your world

Each app version carries a specific server version for the device world. Updating the app updates that server; the database, uploads, generated pictures and a downloaded sound library are preserved across the payload upgrade. The first start after an update unpacks the new server and takes a few seconds longer.

Staying in step

The app draws a host's screens itself when the host runs server 0.21.0 or newer, and falls back to the host's own pages for older ones. Keeping the app current keeps every host you visit on the app's own screens. See Version compatibility and What's new.