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Douglas McCarroll
Douglas McCarroll
Inspiring
July 26, 2017
Answered

Android certificate expires ?!

  • July 26, 2017
  • 1 reply
  • 3122 views

Hi All,

In order to publish a mobile AIR app to the Google Play Store we have to package it with a certificate.

Then when we update the app with a new version, the Play Store requires that it be signed with the same certificate.

But certificates - whether commercial or self-signed - expire.

For example, this page ...

Adobe AIR * Creating a self-signed certificate with ADT

... explains that "you will be unable to produce an updated AIR file after the original ADT-generated certificate expires ...  You can publish new applications with a different certificate, but not new versions of the same application"

I find it difficult to believe, but it almost sounds as though, when I want to update my app, I have to remove it from the Play Store and replace it with a "new application", i.e. the same app, but signed with a new certificate.

This makes no sense...

Could someone explain to me what I'm missing here?

Thanks,

Douglas

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Douglas McCarroll

I have only ever submitted apps with self signed certificates. When you create the certificate in Adobe Animate the Validity Period defaults to 25 years. I've never bothered to decrease or increase that.

More interesting information in the answer posted here:

android - Why should I Sign my Application APK before release - Stack Overflow


Thanks Colin - That was the guidance that I needed. I don't use Animate, but once I knew that it was possible to create a certificate with a long validity period I used ADT to create it.

Here's the command I used, if anyone is interested:

adt -certificate -cn SelfSign -ou QE -o "My Organization's Name" -c US -validityPeriod 30 2048-RSA MyFileName.p12 myPassword

Adobe AIR * AIR Developer Tool (ADT)

1 reply

Colin Holgate
Colin Holgate
Inspiring
July 26, 2017

One requirement of Google Play is that the certificate should last at least 25 years. So, although you may hit the problem you describe, you have a long time to be mentally prepared for it.

Douglas McCarroll
Douglas McCarrollAuthor
Inspiring
July 26, 2017

Hi Colin,

> One requirement of Google Play is that the certificate should last at least 25 years.

Yes, I've just been reading about that, here: Sign Your App | Android Studio

But I have the impression that self-signed certificates expire after a year or two...   ?

So, perhaps the correct question for me to ask is "where/how do I obtain such a long-lived certificate?"

Douglas

Colin Holgate
Colin Holgate
Inspiring
July 26, 2017

I have only ever submitted apps with self signed certificates. When you create the certificate in Adobe Animate the Validity Period defaults to 25 years. I've never bothered to decrease or increase that.

More interesting information in the answer posted here:

android - Why should I Sign my Application APK before release - Stack Overflow

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