If you wanna help me
Download
Get the APK from the Releases page — it is not in the file list above.
Instructions
- Download the APK from the Releases page.
- Install it.
Enjoy!
If Google tries to replace the APK with the updated Developer Verifier app, it will fail due to a signature mismatch.
Troubleshooting
Nearly every issue opened on this repo is the same one, in one of two shapes:
App not installed as package conflicts with an existing package— installing by tapping the APKINSTALL_FAILED_UPDATE_INCOMPATIBLE: Existing package com.google.android.verifier signatures do not match newer version— installing via adb
Both mean the real Developer Verifier is still registered on your device. Android refuses to replace a package with one signed by a different key (AOSP: "a previously installed package of the same name has a different signature than the new package").
Whether this is fixable depends on how the Verifier got onto your device, and that differs between vendors and Android builds. Run the triage below to find out which case you are in.
Step 1 — run the triage
adb shell pm list packages -u | grep verifier
adb uninstall com.google.android.verifier
Do not add --user 0. By default adb uninstall removes the package for every user on the
device, which is what you want — --user 0 only touches the primary profile and is the reason many
people get stuck with Failure [not installed for 0].
Step 2 — read what it answered
Success → the Verifier was an ordinary updatable app and is now really gone. Install the placeholder:
adb install -r -d developer-verifier-v3000000000000.apk
Failure [not installed for 0], while step 1 still lists the package → the Verifier is
preinstalled in your system partition. Android never actually deletes a system package: it marks it
installed=false for the user and keeps the package record and its original signature in the
package database (AOSP DeletePackageHelper).
Any differently signed APK is rejected from then on. There is no non-root workaround — please do not
open an issue for this.
Both outcomes have been reported on similar hardware, so do not assume from someone else's report: run the two commands on your own device.
Notes
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| No PC available | Use Shizuku + aShell to run the same commands on-device |
adb shell pm install file.apk says Unable to open file | Wrong command. adb shell pm cannot see files on your computer — use adb install |
| Samsung | Also uninstall it inside Knox Secure Folder (Secure Folder → Settings → Apps), and turn off Settings → Security and privacy → Auto Blocker |
| "Verify apps over USB" in Developer options | Turning it off does not fix a signature mismatch. Only step 2 decides the outcome |
Changed your mind?
To bring the real Developer Verifier back:
adb uninstall com.google.android.verifier
adb shell cmd package install-existing com.google.android.verifier
VirusTotal flags the APK
Some engines report Android.Riskware.Repack.*. This is a false positive: the APK contains no code
at all — just a manifest, see app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml.
Heuristics fire because it declares a Google package name while being signed with a different key,
which is precisely the point of a placeholder. Build it yourself if you prefer.
Changelog :
- v3000000000000: Initial release.
versionNameis3000000000000— it is a free-form string, so it can be arbitrarily large.versionCodestays at2000000000: it is a 32-bit integer, and the greatest value Google Play allows is 2100000000. TheversionCodeis what actually blocks the update.