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androidgoogle-play-console

Warning: App must target Android 13 (API level 33) or higher. It does

I received the following warning from Google Play Console that our app does not meet the minimum target API level. However, it does and below is the code for it:

defaultConfig {
        // TODO: Specify your own unique Application ID (https://developer.android.com/studio/build/application-id.html).
        //TODO: Keep an eye on targetSdkVersion number, as it has to be within one year of major android release.
        applicationId "com.com"
        minSdkVersion 24
        targetSdkVersion 33
        versionCode flutterVersionCode.toInteger()
        versionName flutterVersionName
    }

This is the image showing the warning: enter image description here

Then, when I click on the affect app bundles, they are really old ones from over 2 years ago: enter image description here

Should I just delete these older bundles or do I need to do something else? I am worried because it says we will not be able to update the app unless we meet the requirements (which the newest code does).

UPDATE: After first updating each track (even paused ones) with a compliant app bundle according to the answers below, sending them for review, and then publishing those changes (again even if the track is inactive), my warning of not being able to update the app persisted. So I reached out to Google directly and received the following message about the warning. I guess we will see what happens the next time I try to update the app

"As per checking, this warning is with regards to Google Play's target API level requirement which only warns the developers about the risk of not releasing a compliant app version. In this case, you may ignore this warning and you can rest assured that you will still be able to release an app update. I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions about the Play Console and we'll be happy to help."

Update of Update: After publishing and clicking on the message in the Inbox, a new message appeared saying violation was resolved (as mentioned below).

Solution

  • I was faced with this warning for a similar reason - I had a package with an old target api version in internal testing paused.

    The solution to this problem is to update all active application packages released in production or testing.

    To see a list of all app bundles that need to be updated, you should go to:

    Inbox > Click your affected warning message > View details > View app bundles - This will list all app bundles and where they are released - Production or testing.

    Also, you can check them by going to the App Bundle Explorer and checking all versions with Release status is Active for matching target sdk In my case, it was paused version 1.0.0 with target sdk 31 for internal testing: App Bundle Explorer

    You need to go to the partition where the active version with target sdk < 33 is located and do the following: Add new release > Add from library > Set checkbox on your app bundle with target sdk 33 or more > Add to release > Next > Save and publish

    Then if you go back to Inbox > Click your warning message > View details you will no longer see the View affected app bundles button, and you will have the following notification:

    Notification

    Thus, after completing all the actions, all your active releases will comply with the rules

    UPD:

    After completing all the above steps and successfully completing the review, the warning message will disappear and you will receive the following message in your Inbox:

    Message