INSTALL_PARSE_FAILED_NO_CERTIFICATES 🤖 Android

INSTALL_PARSE_FAILED_NO_CERTIFICATES / App not installed as package appears to be invalid

The APK isn’t signed (or the signature is invalid for this Android version), so it can’t be installed.

Seen on: Android

Meaning

Release APKs built without a signingConfig are unsigned. Modern Android needs APK Signature Scheme v2+; signing with only v1 or modifying the APK after signing breaks it. Phones show “App not installed as package appears to be invalid”.

Common causes

  • Release build without signingConfig
  • APK modified (zipaligned) after signing
  • Only v1 (JAR) signature on Android 11+ (targetSdk 30+)
  • Corrupted download

⚡ Quick fix

  1. Configure signingConfig for release or sign with apksigner
  2. zipalign before apksigner, never after
  3. Verify with apksigner verify

Detailed fix by platform

Shell

  1. kotlin
    zipalign -v -p 4 app-unsigned.apk app-aligned.apk
apksigner sign --ks release.jks --out app-signed.apk app-aligned.apk
apksigner verify --verbose app-signed.apk

How to diagnose

  1. Signature — apksigner verify output
  2. Build — signingConfig set?

🔧 Still not fixed?

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