Forum Discussion
Private app package name already in use
I got an APK from our Digital Signage vendor Poppulo (formerly known as Four Winds Interactive) and tried to upload it as a private Google Play app through the iframe in Intune. Got this error:
From reading this article Best practices for private apps, I understand package names must be globally unique which makes sense. I am guessing that some other org already uploaded the same package that I have and now they are essentially the only ones that can use it....
I definitely think this is Poppulo's fault and honestly I think it's kind of wild they don't just publish this app in the Google Play Store. Especially given they are such a big company and a very popular choice for digital signage.
Regardless, I am curious if anyone else has ran into this problem before and if there is any sort of workarounds. It's my first time deploying a custom app and I've only just now realized that Intune's Line-of-business (LOB) app mode that lets you upload APKs is not allowed on devices managed with Android Enterprise. Meaning Google Play private apps are my only method of uploading and deploying a custom APK.
Hi,
Yes you are right that package names have to be unique across the store, even apps that are no longer available can't have the name reused. The only option is to change that package name, resign and upload.
It's good practice to use a name based on your domain name such as com.mycompany.appname
Ben
Do you have a contact at Poppulo? It could well be they have the app unpublished and can share it with your organisation ID.
Alternatively they could provide you with a custom package name.
Oooo good thinking with the unpublished app. I put in a ticket with Poppulo but haven't heard back yet. I'm hoping that this is the solution because it sounds like the easiest!
Update on this: Poppulo says
It looks like that app that was uploaded is an old version of the app that's too old to use, so unfortunately, sharing it won't be an option. I'm more than happy to communicate your team's interest in having the app uploaded to the google play store, but at this time that's not an option we can offer.
UGH I'm pushing back on this. I can't imagine it's that hard to upload the newest version of their APK right? It's kind of wild to think that I'm the only one that wants to deploy the app this way.
That's a daft reply indeed.. assuming they can see it from their console. They could be referencing something else (you know what support teams can be like I'm sure).
Hey okmick ,
It seems like another Organization is already using this pname. Do you now the pname of this APK, not just the file name? If you have contact with Poppulo, you may ask them to include your Organization ID in their Google Play Console (MGP) to be able to use this application.
Another approach is to recompile and distribute the private app with a unique pname and publish it as a private app (If you have the project file for this app).
ReyI do not know the pname. I have a ticket open with Poppulo so I am hoping they can include our organization ID. Thanks.
To be honest i don't work with Intune yet, so i don't know if they have the same possibility like Soti Mobicontrol but want to mention it.
In Soti we can upload apps as "Enterprise apk" internally to the MDM (or even as a package), so the app will be somehow sideloaded and installed by the MDM agent. Then you don't need to upload any app as a private one and don't need to care of things like that.
We do this with several apps where we got the apk from the developers but the app is also with the same package name in the (public) play store. We don't need to worry about that with that solution as we ran into this in the beginning as well.
Edit: I think this might be it in Intune (?): https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/mem/intune/apps/lob-apps-android
Intune can't handle direct APK installation for Line of Business devices on Android Enterprise devices. It had this capability for DA but not for Android Enterprise.
As a representative of a software development company that also provides EMMs managed services we take the same stance as Poppulo here. We do not trust AMAPI based EMMs like Intune for fully managed device deployments and mandate that our end customers leverage a custom DPC based EMM that can install APKs directly on devices. The business applications are ultimately more important to the enterprise than the EMM being leveraged to manage the mobile devices. This is likely a counter view point to a lot of the folks in this community but is the vantage point I have being on both the app development and device management side of the fully managed mission critical device space.
Based on this situation I don't fault Poppulo at all, I fault Intune for only supporting Managed Play for app installation and fault Google for not providing better Managed Play capabilities for the mission critical device space. Forcing developers to recompile a new bundle ID to work around a Google (and by proxy Intune) limitation and then getting upset with the developer when they don't want to do that doesn't make any sense to me.If the EMM can't handle the installation of APKs directly on mission critical /line of business Android Enterprise devices then it is not a sufficient EMM for managing those devices, in my opinion.
Thanks for your comment. I agree with you that Microsoft is at fault here for not allowing me to deploy APKs manually. I am a bit confused by your stance however. Why do you not trust AMAPI based EMMs? Sorry if I am missing something obvious.
Also curious about your recommendation for customers to use a custom DPC given that Google is deprecating them: https://developers.google.com/android/work/play/emm-api/register
Yeah like mattdermody stated, I can't deploy APKs to Android Enterprise devices in Intune. I can only do that if I manage it with the Device Administrator or AOSP methods. That's what I meant when I said this in my original post:
It's my first time deploying a custom app and I've only just now realized that Intune's Line-of-business (LOB) app mode that lets you upload APKs is not allowed on devices managed with Android Enterprise. Meaning Google Play private apps are my only method of uploading and deploying a custom APK.
