When using SFTP to upload your application to Amazon Appstore, you may encounter an error that reads "The application you are trying to update cannot be updated in its current state. Binaries can only be updated if the status of the application is in progress or pending. Please contact us for more information."
It might not be immediately clear why you are seeing this error, especially if you indeed have an application in progress, in a “Not Submitted” state, for example when it’s a draft entry in “Upcoming Version” or in Live App Testing.
To understand the reason for this error, we have to look into the requirements for SFTP file uploads. For the system to correctly identify the file you are uploading and associate it with your account and the application entry, it has to be named in a certain way. There are several acceptable names, but in the most basic form the file you are uploading should have the following format:
A1B2CDEFG3HIJK-com.example.mytestapp-Binary1.apk
Where:
A1B2CDEFG3HIJK – is the application release / version ID. You can find it if you click on your application name in the Dashboard, and when the app details page opens, look in the address bar in your web browser, this ID will be part of the URL
com.example.mytestapp – is your application’s package name
Binary1 – is the binary alias of your application, found in the “Binary File(s)” tab
Your application’s main entry, for example the currently live version has one ID. The unsubmitted upcoming version draft will have a different ID. The test in Live App Testing will have yet another ID. If you named your file using the ID of the currently live app, and are trying to upload this file to the upcoming version or Live App Testing, you will receive the error mentioned above. It is not possible to upload a binary into a live app (only into a draft).
To resolve this error, you can check that the ID value that you used to name your .apk file matches the one that your Upcoming Version or Live App Testing slot requires by following these steps:
- Log into your Dev Portal account: https://developer.amazon.com/
- Select your app in the Dashboard,
- Select the link for the Upcoming Version; or the Live App Testing link (for LAT only: click to 'Edit' the test)
- Switch to the 'Binary File(s)' tab
- Ensure you are in Edit mode (if not, click the 'Edit' button),
- In the 'Binary File' section click the 'SFTP instructions and naming convention' link that will take you to the instructions page.
Once you are in the correct section, note the ID value and make sure that it's the same as used in the name of your file that you are trying to upload. Ideally always copy and paste the suggested file name from that page, and rename your APK file accordingly before you upload it.
If you are still experiencing issues with your application's update over SFTP, please create a 'Contact Us' case from your Dev Portal, and specify your app name / ID, so we could investigate this further.
