Google finally announced its long-awaited “advanced flow” for allowing downloads from unverified developers last week, which will roll out later this year to all Android phones. It addressed many of the concerns we had about the future of third-party APK installation, but that doesn’t mean it provided every answer under the sun. Fortunately, a new FAQ video goes a long way toward filling in some of the gaps, including confirming that you won’t need to repeat this process when you get a new phone.
He Android Developers Account on Twitter shared an FAQ video hosted by Matthew Forsythe, Google’s “Chief Product Explainer” and the perfect person to help shed some light on this transition. There are a lot of interesting talking points here, but the big reveal is what happens when you upgrade to a new phone. According to Forsythe, once you’ve enabled this advanced flow on your current Android device, you’ll be able to transfer it to your new device during setup.
Now this leaves us with some follow-up questions. What happens if you factory reset your current device? Is it able to detect, either at the hardware or account level, that you have previously taken the steps to enable the download? Similarly, what if you are flashing new ROMs on your phone? Is downloading still enabled after flashing a new ROM and can it be transferred despite not having two devices side by side? Unfortunately, the answers to both questions will have to wait for a possible second FAQ video in the future.
There are also many other interesting facts in this video, including:
- ADB installations are not affected by the 24-hour waiting period and therefore there is no ADB command to bypass the 24-hour waiting period.. Forsythe states the last point as an ADB-specific question, but presumably, this also means that you can’t connect your phone to your PC to press a single ADB command to skip this part of the process. For those first 24 hours, you will be stuck downloading ADB.
- Apps can’t detect if advanced flow is enabledbecause it is a change at the operating system level.
- You must keep advanced flow enabled to update unverified applications. This includes anyone who opts into the limited 7-day skip period. Once those seven days have passed, you will need to restart the process to update those applications. Forsythe says this option really exists specifically for testing apps, not for installing apps you want to keep on your device.
- There is no need to keep developer mode enabled to continue installing unverified APKs. This one is huge, because it means that one of the biggest concerns about this process (some banking apps don’t work when developer mode is enabled in settings) is moot. If all you need developer mode for is to perform this specific process, you can restore your phone to normal once you’re done with the waiting period.
- The verification does not violate the developers’ confidentiality agreements. This one is specifically for developers, not end users, but it’s still good to know. Google says this process does not involve reviewing the app.
With the questions about updating the phone and banking app answered, to my personal satisfaction and hopefully that of the broader Android audience, this change still seems like a minor, one-time inconvenience for those of us who rely on sideloading regularly. Fingers crossed the last remaining questions regarding ROM flashing and factory resets and eventually they receive the same round of good news.
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