Live App Testing a constant source of pain

Fire Devices & Appstore Q&A
1

Hi

We are regularly doing builds for multiple apps across multiple mobile platforms and the one we always have problem with during testing is Amazon. Live App Testing seems to barely work, I’ll ask your thoughts and wonder what Amazon can do to improve things.

We’ve had a test running for a while (days), but no notifications to testers that there is a new version. So on that test resent invites to all testers. I click the link, open the web page on desktop and click join the test, I click deliver the app to my Fire device.

Hours pass and no sign of the app update. If I search for the app I only see the live store version. I run the app and get the live store version. No sign of a testing build.

If I go to the Amazon App Store, then search, I only see the live version. If I go to Appstore Library and search, it actually shows me both the live version and the test version separately. Clicking either just opens the current live app.

If I search the store, I see the live version and it’s not showing any available updates. There is however a notification (system notifications). I can click it and nothing happens. Another time I click the notification and the app store homepage opens, but nothing happens (no app). If I quit the app store, lock the device, click the notification twice, enter unlock code it just opens and runs the currently live app.

Any ideas why this might be happening? I’ll make a list of suggested improvements later.

2

Hello,

Thanks for posting. Here’s a breakdown of what’s likely happening and how to resolve each issue:

1. Testers Not Receiving Notifications

Likely cause: The tester may have unsubscribed from LAT emails at some point (there’s an unsubscribe option in the first invite email). Once unsubscribed, they receive no emails and no push notifications until they re-opt-in.

Fix:

  1. In the Developer Console → My Apps → [Your App] → Live App Testing, get the opt-in link for affected testers.
  2. Share the link with them — it lets them resubscribe to LAT communications.
  3. After resubscribing, resend the invitation from the console.

:page_facing_up: Reference: Prepare App Testers – Opt-in to LAT emails

2. Push Notification Tapped but App/Update Doesn’t Install

Likely cause: A few common reasons:

  • The device is not registered to the same Amazon account used for the LAT test invitation. Push notifications for LAT only work if the device is registered to the account tied to the tester’s email.
  • The Appstore app needs a force-close and relaunch after tapping the notification — the notification sometimes routes to a test page that doesn’t render correctly if the Appstore is already in a cached state.
  • There can be a delay of several hours between test submission and availability on-device. This is expected behavior for LAT.

Fix:

  1. Confirm the Fire device is registered to the exact Amazon account associated with the tester’s invitation email.
  2. After tapping the notification, force-close the Amazon Appstore app, relaunch it, and navigate to Appstore Library → find the test build there.
  3. If the notification doesn’t work, use the email invitation link as the primary install method — it’s more reliable.

3. Appstore Library Shows Both Versions, but Clicking Opens Live App

Likely cause: This is a known LAT behavior. The test build appears in the Library separately from the live version, but:

  • If the test build APK version code is not higher than the live version, the device may default to the live build.
  • The test build may still be processing/propagating on Amazon’s backend.

Fix:

  1. Ensure your test APK has a higher `versionCode` than the currently live version in the store.
  2. Wait up to a few hours for full propagation — LAT can take time to make the test build installable.
  3. Try uninstalling the live version from the device, then installing the test build from the Library.