Before you apply for production access, Google advises you to set up and run a pre-launch report. It is a free automated test of your app that runs on Google's own devices, and it can find problems that your own phone never shows. This guide explains what it is and how to use it. The details come from Google's help page on the pre-launch report and its testing requirements. Menus change, so check yours.

What it does

Google says that when you upload an app bundle, or save a release to the production track, it installs the app on a set of Android devices in its test lab and tests it. The tests look for:

• Stability problems, such as crashes
• Android compatibility problems
• Performance problems
• Accessibility problems

Google's report overview groups what it finds into categories such as Stability, Performance, Accessibility, and Security and trust. It also gives a recommendation about how ready your app looks. Google adds that it cannot guarantee the tests will find every issue, so the report is a help, not a verdict.

Where to find it

In Play Console, go to Test and release, then Testing, then Pre-launch report. There you will find the Overview, the Details and the Settings pages.

How to use it before you apply

1. Run it on your closed test build. Google says reports are generated automatically when you publish to a closed or open test track.
2. Read the Overview first. Fix crashes before anything else.
3. Open the Details for each issue. Note which devices were affected.
4. Fix, upload a new build, and read the next report. Write the fixes in your feedback record. They also answer the form's question about what you changed.
5. Check it again before you apply. See the production access checklist. Google tells you to make sure the app is stable, with no crashes, broken functions or missing screens.

If your app needs a login

Google's pre-launch report lets you provide test account credentials in the Settings, so its test devices can sign in. Google also says it signs in automatically if your app supports "Sign-in with Google". Without a way to sign in, the test devices may only see your login screen. See login details for Google's review.

Limits to know

• Google says test devices cannot make purchases during testing, so scenarios behind subscriptions or in-app products may be limited.
• Test devices cannot run tests on apps without a main launch activity, such as launchers, widgets, keyboards and watch faces.
• Crashes found during the report come from test devices, so Google says they do not affect your crash statistics.

It does not replace human testers

An automated report cannot tell you that a button label is confusing, or that a flow feels slow. Real testers find those problems. That is what your closed test is for. Our 14-day plan shows how to run it.

ClosedTest is an independent service and is not affiliated with Google.