Testing pre-installed applications on Android devices

Before you can test certain Android applications, you must rebuild them by providing a private key. Examples of such applications are those that are pre-installed on devices or APIs that need administrator or root-level permissions.

Before you begin

The application under test must be uploaded to the test workbench. You can upload the application by using the Upload application option on the IBM® Rational® Test Workbench Mobile Client installed on a device, see Uploading Android applications from the mobile client. Alternatively, you can import the application to the test client, and use the Add application wizard from the Mobile and Web UI Applications editor. See Importing applications to test in the workbench.

About this task

To test certain applications, you need administrator or root-level permissions. For example, applications that are pre-installed on devices, are protected and cannot be uninstalled without administrator rights. Examples of other applications that need root-level permissions are Gmail, Facebook, Dropbox, and applications that use Google APIs (for example, to access Google maps, Google marketplace) or Facebook APIs. To test these types of applications, you must provide your private key and rebuild the application. The application is thus recompiled with the new certificate. For pre-installed applications, because the recording and playback packages share the same signature key as the original application, the packages can now be installed on the device. When you initiate a recording or playback on the device, the currently installed application is not uninstalled but replaced by the recording-ready application or the playback-ready application respectively if the option This application is pre-installed and cannot be uninstalled is selected.

Procedure

  1. In the Mobile and Web UI Applications editor, right-click an application and click Rebuild Application. To build the application with a new version of the application, you must import a new version in the editor first.
  2. Select Sign application with your own private key in the dialog box and click yes to rebuild the application.
  3. In the wizard that opens, select a keystore file, enter a Keystore password, select an Alias , enter the Alias password, and click OK. When the build process is completed, the application under test is signed with the private key (the certificate) for that alias. Thus, the application is rebuilt, re-instrumented and made ready for recording and testing.
  4. Optional and for pre-installed applications only: In the Mobile and web UI applications editor, select the This application is pre-installed and cannot be uninstalled option. With this option selected, when you are ready for recording a test, the application is not uninstalled; rather, the recording ready application or playback application is installed over the currently installed application.

Feedback