Mobile app updates · Franklin, Tennessee

Is your app still allowed to update?

Google Play and the App Store raise their minimum requirements every year. Apps that haven’t been rebuilt in a while stop accepting updates and, on Android, quietly stop showing up for new customers. I bring older apps up to date for a fixed price, then keep them there.

Get a free check Flutter, React Native, native Android and iOS
Android
Updates must target Android 16 (API 36)
iOS
Uploads must be built with Xcode 26
First check
Free, written, no call needed
Experience
15 years shipping client apps

What changed: since August 31, 2026, Google Play rejects any new app or update that doesn’t target Android 16 (API level 36). Existing apps that target lower than Android 15 are no longer available to new users on newer Android phones. Since April 28, 2026, Apple rejects any upload not built with Xcode 26.

Your app doesn’t get deleted. It just can’t ship a fix, a price change, or a security patch until it’s rebuilt — and on Android, fewer new people can find it.

The one-line change usually isn’t one line.

Raising the target version turns on new platform behavior: edge-to-edge screens, new back-button handling, and layouts that must work on tablets and foldables. Old plugins and SDKs often won’t build against the new version at all.

That’s why these updates stall when the original developer has moved on. The work is mostly upgrading dependencies, fixing what breaks, and testing on real devices before resubmitting.

Check it yourself

Two minutes to know where you stand

  1. Look at your store listing

    On Google Play, open your app and find “Updated on.” If it’s before mid-2025, the build can’t meet the current requirement. If it’s before mid-2024, it very likely targets Android 14 or lower.

  2. Check Play Console

    Google posts the warning under Policy status and in your inbox: “App must target Android 16 (API level 36) or higher.” It names your current target level.

  3. Find out who has the code

    The fix needs your source code and access to your store accounts. If you’re not sure where either lives, that’s worth knowing now, and I can help you track it down.

How it works

No passwords, no surprises

  1. Free written check

    Tell me your app. I look at your listings, and if you share read access to the code, at its dependencies. You get a short email saying what’s out of date, what it will take, and a fixed price.

  2. Access without passwords

    You invite me as a user in Play Console and App Store Connect and add me to your code repository. You can remove that access whenever you like.

  3. Upgrade and test

    I upgrade the build, the plugins and SDKs, and fix what breaks. I test on physical Android and iOS devices and send you a test build to try first.

  4. You approve, I submit

    Once you’re happy, I submit to the stores and handle reviewer questions. You keep everything: code, accounts, and a short note on what changed.

Pricing

Fixed prices, quoted before any work

Start here

Free check

$0

A written assessment of what’s out of date and what the update involves, with a fixed quote.

Most apps

Compliance update

$1,500–4,000

Android and iOS brought current, tested on real devices, and resubmitted. Price set by the check, not by the hour.

Optional

Keep-alive

$250/mo

Each year’s new requirement handled before the deadline, plus dependency and crash monitoring. Cancel anytime.

If needed

Rebuild

Quoted

When the source code is lost or too far behind to upgrade, a rebuild in Flutter for both stores.

Who you’d work with

One developer, start to finish

Dane Hale

I’m Dane Hale. I’ve built and shipped mobile apps for clients for 15 years, mostly in Flutter and native iOS and Android, and I lead a software engineering team in Middle Tennessee.

I use AI coding tools to do the repetitive upgrade work faster, which keeps the price fixed and low. Every change is reviewed and tested by me on real devices before it reaches your customers.

You’ll deal with me directly, from the first email to the store submission.

Questions

Frequently asked

Will Google remove my app?

No. It stays on the store and keeps working for people who already have it. What stops is your ability to publish updates. If it targets Android 14 or lower, new users on newer Android phones also can’t find or install it.

Didn’t Google give an extension?

Developers who requested one had until November 1, 2026. After that, every update has to target Android 16.

Our developer is gone. Can you still do it?

Usually, yes. That’s the most common situation I see. I need the source code and to be invited to your store accounts. If the code can’t be found, I’ll tell you plainly and quote a rebuild instead.

Do you need our passwords?

No. Google Play Console, App Store Connect and GitHub all let you invite a user with limited access, which you can remove at any time.

What if the check finds nothing wrong?

Then I’ll tell you that, and you owe nothing.

Our app was built on a platform like a church or restaurant app service.

Then your provider is responsible for these updates, and you should ask them first. I work on apps you own the code for.

Next step

Get a free check.

Send me your app’s name or store link. I’ll reply within two business days with what’s out of date and what it would take. No call required.

Email for a free check

Email danehale0612@gmail.com or call (615) 605-4528