iOS

📘
iOS 14 Implementation
In order to give you full control over the user experience, the Branch SDK will not trigger the IDFA permission modal.
However, we will still collect and use IDFAs when available if you do choose to trigger the modal.

❗️
Inconsistent Universal links behavior on iOS 11.2
After updating a device to iOS 11.2, we found that the app's AASA file is no longer downloaded reliably onto your user’s device after an app install. As a result, clicking on Universal links will no longer open the app consistently. You can set forced uri redirect mode on your Branch links to open the app with URI schemes. View details of the issue on the Apple Bug report.

1. Configure Branch Dashboard

Start by configuring the iOS settings of your Xamarin application in the Branch Dashboard:

On the Link Settings page, check the I have an iOS App checkbox.
Enter the app's URI Scheme in the iOS URI Scheme field. For an app with the URI Scheme testiosapp, the entry would be: testiosapp://.
Enter the app's Apple Store name in the Apple Store Search field. If the app is not yet available on the App Store, select Custom URL and enter as a placeholder the URL of an appropriate web site (the exact site does not matter).
Check the Enable Universal Links checkbox.
Enter the app's case-sensitive Bundle Identifier, as well as Apple App Prefix as shown on the Apple Developer Portal.

2. Install Branch NuGet Package

IMPORTANT: Xamarin applications should use versions 8.1.2 or lower of the Branch-Xamarin-Linking-SDK NuGet package - versions 9.0.0+ are for MAUI applications.

The package must be added to each of the Xamarin projects that will use Branch methods.

To add the Branch NuGet package to a project:

Right-click on each project and select Add → Add NuGet Packages.
Find the Branch-Xamarin-Linking-SDK package and add it to the project. Make sure you are using version 8.1.2 or lower for a Xamarin application.

3. Configure App

Create an Apple Device Provisioning Profile for the App

Open Xcode and create a new project with the same name as your Xamarin iOS project.
On the Xcode project's General tab, verify the app's case-sensitive Bundle Identifier is correct and select the appropriate Team. Be sure to resolve any errors here.
Select the Capabilities tab and enable the Associated Domains entitlement.
Create applinks: entries for the Branch link domain and the alternate link domain (the link domain can be found at the bottom of the Branch Dashboard's Link Settings page). For example, the entries for an app with the default link domain testiosapp.app.link would be:
applinks:testiosapp.app.link
applinks:testiosapp-alternate.app.link
Use Xcode to run this newly-created app on an iOS device. This will create and install a Provisioning Profile with the proper entitlements on that device.

Configure the Xamarin Project's Info.plist File

Open the Info.plist file.
Enter the app's Bundle Identifier from the Apple Developer Portal in the Bundle Identifier field. IMPORTANT: This field will automatically be populated with an all-lowercase value by Xamarin. The value is in fact case-sensitive and must match the value in the Apple Developer Portal precisely.
Click on the Advanced tab.
In the URL Types section, click the Add URL Type button:
Identifier: Branch Scheme
URL Schemes: The app's URI Scheme, for example testiosapp
Role: Editor

Configure the Xamarin Project's Associated Domains Entitlement

Open the Entitlements.plist file and browse to the Associated Domains section.
Create entries for both the app's link domain and its alternate link domain. The entries for the TestBed-Xamarin app would be:
applinks:testiosapp.app.link
applinks:testiosapp-alternate.app.link

Update the Project's Signing Identity and Provisioning Profile

Right-click on the iOS project and select Options.
Select iOS Bundle Signing.
Set the Signing Identity and Provisioning Profile values to the values used when deploying the Provisioning Profile to the device.

4. Initialize Branch

Branch initialization occurs within the FinishedLaunching method of the AppDelegate.cs file. Branch calls are also required in the OpenUrl, ContinueUserActivity, and ReceiveRemoteNotification methods to ensure that Branch link information is handled properly whenever the app becomes active.

Whenever the app becomes active, the Branch SDK will reach out to the Branch backend to retrieve any available link parameters. If the app becomes active due to a click on a Branch link, the link data will be returned in the InitSessionComplete method. This is where any Branch Deep Link routing logic should reside. Any error in retrieving Branch link data from the backend will be returned in the SessionRequestError method.

// AppDelegate.cs

using Foundation;
using UIKit;
using BranchXamarinSDK;
using BranchXamarinSDK.iOS;
using System;

namespace TestiOSApp.iOS
{
    [Register("AppDelegate")]
    public class AppDelegate : UIApplicationDelegate, IBranchBUOSessionInterface
    {
        public override UIWindow Window
        {
            get;
            set;
        }

        public override bool FinishedLaunching(UIApplication application, NSDictionary launchOptions)
        {
            // Debug mode - set to 'false' before releasing to production
            BranchIOS.Debug = true;
            BranchIOS.Init("key_live_<YOUR-GUID-HERE>", launchOptions, this);

            return true;
        }

        // Called when the app is opened via URI scheme
        public override bool OpenUrl(UIApplication application, NSUrl url, string sourceApplication, NSObject annotation)
        {
            return BranchIOS.getInstance().OpenUrl(url);
        }

        // Called when the app is opened from a Universal Link
        public override bool ContinueUserActivity(UIApplication application, NSUserActivity userActivity,
                      UIApplicationRestorationHandler completionHandler)
        {
            return BranchIOS.getInstance().ContinueUserActivity(userActivity);
        }

        // Called when the app receives a push notification
        public override void ReceivedRemoteNotification(UIApplication application, NSDictionary userInfo)
        {
            BranchIOS.getInstance().HandlePushNotification(userInfo);
        }

        // Called when the Branch initialization is completed
        // Put Branch Deep Link logic in this method
        public void InitSessionComplete(BranchUniversalObject buo, BranchLinkProperties blp)
        {
            NSObject[] keys = {
                NSObject.FromObject("+is_first_session")
            };

            NSObject[] values = { NSObject.FromObject(0) };
            if (buo.metadata.ContainsKey("+is_first_session"))
            {
                values[0] = NSObject.FromObject(buo.metadata["+is_first_session"]);
            }

            NSDictionary nsData = NSDictionary.FromObjectsAndKeys(values, keys);
        }

        // Called when there is an error initializing Branch
        public void SessionRequestError(BranchError error)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Branch error: " + error.ErrorCode);
            Console.WriteLine(error.ErrorMessage);
        }

    }
}

Create a Class for Branch Session Handling

Branch initializes asynchronously, with Branch link parameters being returned following a network call to Branch. If initialization is successful, the InitSessionComplete method will be invoked. If initialization is unsuccessful, the SessionRequestError method will be invoked. Branch Deep Link routing logic should be located in the InitSessionComplete method.

Right-click on the C# project and select Add → New File.
Select General, then Empty Class.
Rename the file to TestXamarinFormsApp.cs.
Add the following code:

using BranchXamarinSDK;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using Xamarin.Forms;

// Replace `TextXamarinFormsApp` with actual name of your app
namespace TestXamarinFormsApp
{
    public class TestXamarinFormsApp : Application, IBranchSessionInterface
    {

        public TestXamarinFormsApp()
        {
        }

        #region IBranchSessionInterface implementation

        public void InitSessionComplete(Dictionary<string, object> data)
        {
        }

        public void CloseSessionComplete()
        {
        }

        public void SessionRequestError(BranchError error)
        {
        }

        #endregion
    }
}

Create a Class for Handling Link Data

Branch stores link data in an object referred to as the Branch Universal Object, or BUO.

Right-click on the C# project and select Add → New File.
Select General → Empty Class.
Rename the file to TestXamarinFormsAppBUO.cs.
Add the following code:

using BranchXamarinSDK;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using Xamarin.Forms;

// Replace `TextXamarinFormsApp` with actual name of your app
namespace TestXamarinFormsApp
{
    public class TestXamarinFormsAppBUO : Application, IBranchBUOSessionInterface
    {

        public TestXamarinFormsAppBUO()
        {
        }

        #region IBranchBUOSessionInterface implementation

        public void InitSessionComplete(BranchUniversalObject buo, BranchLinkProperties blp)
        {
        }

        public void SessionRequestError(BranchError error)
        {
        }

        #endregion
    }
}

Add Branch Calls to the AppDelegate

To ensure that the Branch SDK initializes when the app starts and can retrieve link parameters whenever the app becomes active, Branch initialization occurs within the FinishedLaunching method of the AppDelegate.cs file. Branch calls are also required in the OpenUrl, ContinueUserActivity, and ReceiveRemoteNotification methods to ensure that Branch link information is handled properly whenever the app becomes active. The AppDelegate.cs file should look like this:

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;

using Foundation;
using UIKit;
using BranchXamarinSDK;
using TestXamarinFormsApp;

// Replace `TextXamarinFormsApp` with actual name of your app
namespace TestXamarinFormsApp.iOS
{
    [Register("AppDelegate")]
    public partial class AppDelegate : global::Xamarin.Forms.Platform.iOS.FormsApplicationDelegate
    {
        public override bool FinishedLaunching(UIApplication app, NSDictionary options)
        {
            global::Xamarin.Forms.Forms.Init();

            // Debug mode - set to 'false' before releasing to production
            BranchIOS.Debug = true;

            TestXamarinFormsAppBUO appBUO = new TestXamarinFormsAppBUO();
            
            // Find your key_live value on the Account Settings page of the Branch Dashboard
            BranchIOS.Init("key_live_<YOUR-GUID-HERE>", options, appBUO);
            LoadApplication(appBUO);

            return base.FinishedLaunching(app, options);
        }

        // Called when the app is opened via URI scheme
        public override bool OpenUrl(UIApplication application, NSUrl url, string sourceApplication, NSObject annotation)
        {
            return BranchIOS.getInstance().OpenUrl(url);
        }

        // Called when the app is opened from a Universal Link
        public override bool ContinueUserActivity(UIApplication application, NSUserActivity userActivity, UIApplicationRestorationHandler completionHandler)
        {
            return BranchIOS.getInstance().ContinueUserActivity(userActivity);
        }

        // Called when the app receives a push notification
        public override void ReceivedRemoteNotification(UIApplication application, NSDictionary userInfo)
        {
            BranchIOS.getInstance().HandlePushNotification(userInfo);
        }
    }
}

Android

❗️
Google Play Services version 17+
If you reference Google Play Services version 17 or higher, you MUST complete Google's update instructions here.
Due to a major Google Play Services change made in June 2019, not completing the update steps will cause Branch's Android SDK (and various other cross-platform SDKs, e.g. Unity) to stop collecting Android AID which we use to ensure accurate deep linking and attribution.
If you are running Google Play Services versions below 17, no update is necessary.

1. Configure Branch Dashboard

Start by configuring the Android settings of your Xamarin application in the Branch Dashboard.

2. Install Branch NuGet Package

🚧
Google Advertising Identifier (GAID)
Branch Xamarin SDK 8.0.0+ requires the Xamarin.GooglePlayServices.AdsIdentifier NuGet package to obtain the advertising id.
Note that version 117.0.1.5 does not work properly on Visual Studio for Mac 2019, use 117.0.1.3 instead.

IMPORTANT: Xamarin applications should use versions 8.1.2 or lower of the Branch-Xamarin-Linking-SDK NuGet package - higher versions are for MAUI applications.

The package must be added to each of the Xamarin projects that will use Branch methods.

To add the Branch NuGet package to a project:

Right-click on each project and select Add → Add NuGet Packages.
Find the Branch-Xamarin-Linking-SDK package and add it to the project. Make sure you are using version 8.1.2 or lower for a Xamarin application.

3. Configure App

Ensure Android Project Is Not Using Shared Mono Runtime

Right-click on the Android project and select Options.
Select Android Build.
On the General tab, un-check Use Shared Mono Runtime.

Add App Capabilities in Manifest File

In the Required permissions section of AndroidManifest.xml, configure the following permissions:

AccessNetworkState
Internet

Additional reading on the Android manifest:

Add App's Branch Key

Add the app's Branch key to the Android project's Strings.xml file which lives in Resources/values/. This file contains values that can be accessed by the app's Application class.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
  <string name="app_name">TestXamarinFormsApp</string>
  <string name="branch_key">key_live_liAnF8k7gZUEZv76Rt9a4bffAzlC5zVW</string>
</resources>

4. Initialize Branch

The steps you need to take to initialize Branch in your Xamarin Android project differ based on whether or not you are using the Xamarin.Forms framework.

Initialize Branch Without Xamarin.Forms

Right-click on the .Droid project and select Add → New File.
Select General → Empty File.
Name the file Application.cs.
Add the following code:

using System;
using Android.App;
using Android.Content;
using Android.Runtime;
using BranchXamarinSDK;

// Replace `TestAndroidApp` with actual name of your app
namespace TestAndroidApp.Droid
{
    [Application(AllowBackup = true, Icon = "@mipmap/icon", Label = "@string/app_name")]
    [MetaData("io.branch.sdk.auto_link_disable", Value = "false")]
    [MetaData("io.branch.sdk.TestMode", Value = "true")]
    [MetaData("io.branch.sdk.BranchKey", Value = "@string/branch_key")]

    public class TestAndroidApp : Application
    {
        public TestAndroidApp(IntPtr javaReference, JniHandleOwnership transfer) : base(javaReference, transfer)
        {
        }

        public override void OnCreate()
        {
            base.OnCreate();
            BranchAndroid.GetAutoInstance(this.ApplicationContext);
        }
    }
}

Key Value

io.branch.sdk.TestMode Setting this parameter to true enables Debug Mode, which causes simple uninstall/reinstalls of the app to trigger Install events. Be sure to disable this before deploying to production. Note that enabling Debug Mode on iOS also forces the app to use the Branch test key if this key has been added to the project. Apps running with a test key will be unable to receive data from Branch Deep Links created with the live key.

io.branch.sdk.BranchKey The app's Branch key. Both a live key and a test key can be added to the Strings.xml file. When test mode is enabled, the app will automatically use the test key if one has been specified.

Key	Value
`io.branch.sdk.TestMode`	Setting this parameter to `true` enables Debug Mode, which causes simple uninstall/reinstalls of the app to trigger Install events. Be sure to disable this before deploying to production. Note that enabling Debug Mode on iOS also forces the app to use the Branch test key if this key has been added to the project. Apps running with a test key will be unable to receive data from Branch Deep Links created with the live key.
`io.branch.sdk.BranchKey`	The app's Branch key. Both a live key and a test key can be added to the `Strings.xml` file. When test mode is enabled, the app will automatically use the test key if one has been specified.

Create an Activity to Handle Branch Events

Right-click on the .Droid project and select Add → New File.
Select Android →Activity.
Rename the file BranchActivity.cs.
Add the following code:

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using Newtonsoft.Json;
using BranchXamarinSDK;

using Android.App;
using Android.Content;
using Android.OS;
using Android.Runtime;
using Android.Views;
using Android.Widget;

// Replace `TestAndroidApp` with actual name of your app
namespace TestAndroidApp.Droid
{
    [Activity(Label = "BranchActivity")]
    public class BranchActivity : Activity

    {
        private string logString = "";

        protected override void OnCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
        {
            base.OnCreate(savedInstanceState);

            LogMessage("Branch initialization completed: ");

            Dictionary<string, object> data = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Dictionary<string, object>>(Intent.GetStringExtra("BranchData"));
            foreach (var key in data.Keys)
            {
                LogMessage(key + " : " + data[key].ToString());
            }
        }

        #region Utils

        void LogMessage(string message)
        {
            Console.WriteLine(message);
            logString += DateTime.Now.ToLongTimeString() + "> " + message + "\n";
        }

        #endregion
    }
}

Create an Activity to Handle Branch Errors

Right-click on the .Droid project and select Add → New File.
Select Android → Activity.
Rename the file BranchErrorActivity.cs.
Add the following code:

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;

using Android.App;
using Android.Content;
using Android.OS;
using Android.Runtime;
using Android.Views;
using Android.Widget;

// Replace `TestAndroidApp` with actual name of your app
namespace TestAndroidApp.Droid
{
    [Activity(Label = "BranchErrorActivity")]
    public class BranchErrorActivity : Activity
    {
        private string logString = "";

        protected override void OnCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
        {
            base.OnCreate(savedInstanceState);

            LogMessage("Branch initialization failed");
            LogMessage("Error code: " + Intent.Extras.GetInt("ErrorCode").ToString());
            LogMessage(Intent.Extras.GetString("ErrorMessage"));
        }

        #region Utils

        void LogMessage(string message)
        {
            Console.WriteLine(message);
            logString += DateTime.Now.ToLongTimeString() + "> " + message + "\n";
        }

        #endregion
    }
}

Initialize Branch and Configure Branch Session Management

Branch must be initialized in the OnCreate method of either the Application class or the first Activity launched by the app. The OnNewIntent method must be added to retrieve the latest link identifier when the app becomes active due to a Branch Deep Link click.

If initialization is successful, the InitSessionComplete method will be invoked. If initialization is unsuccessful, the SessionRequestError method will be invoked. Branch Deep Link routing logic should be located in the InitSessionComplete method.

In the code example below the following Branch initialization and session management steps have been added to MainActivity.cs:

An Activity to respond to the app's URI Scheme is created and launched in singleTask mode.
The OnCreate method is overwritten and initializes the Branch SDK.
The OnNewIntent method is overwritten.
An InitSessionComplete method is added for processing Branch Deep Link information. This is where Deep Link routing logic should live.
A SessionRequestError method is added to handle situations where Branch fails to initialize.

using Android.App;
using Android.Widget;
using Android.OS;
using BranchXamarinSDK;
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using Android.Content;
using Newtonsoft.Json;

// Replace `TestAndroidApp` with actual name of your app
namespace TestAndroidApp.Droid
{
    [Activity(Label = "TestAndroidApp", MainLauncher = true, Icon = "@mipmap/icon", LaunchMode = Android.Content.PM.LaunchMode.SingleTask)]

    [IntentFilter(new[] { "android.intent.action.VIEW" },
    Categories = new[] { "android.intent.category.DEFAULT", "android.intent.category.BROWSABLE" },
    DataScheme = "testandroidapp",
    DataHost = "open")]

    [IntentFilter(new[] { "android.intent.action.VIEW" },
    Categories = new[] { "android.intent.category.DEFAULT", "android.intent.category.BROWSABLE" },
    DataScheme = "https",
    DataHost = "testandroidapp.app.link")]

    [IntentFilter(new[] { "android.intent.action.VIEW" },
    Categories = new[] { "android.intent.category.DEFAULT", "android.intent.category.BROWSABLE" },
    DataScheme = "https",
    DataHost = "testandroidapp-alternate.app.link")]

    public class MainActivity : Activity, IBranchSessionInterface
    {

        protected override void OnCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
        {
            base.OnCreate(savedInstanceState);

            BranchAndroid.Init(this, Resources.GetString(Resource.String.branch_key), this);
        }

        // Ensure we get the updated link identifier when the app becomes active
        // due to a Branch link click after having been in the background
        protected override void OnNewIntent(Intent intent)
        {
            this.Intent = intent;
        }

        public void InitSessionComplete(Dictionary<string, object> data)
        {
            //Handle custom logic based on deep link data in InitSessionComplete

            //View all the link data in the console
            Console.WriteLine("My Link Data: " + JsonConvert.SerializeObject(data));

            //Preferred method: use BranchActivity created previously to handle the link data
            //Will need to update BranchActivity with desired custom logic, to open the correct page in the app
            var intent = new Intent(this, typeof(BranchActivity));
            intent.PutExtra("BranchData", JsonConvert.SerializeObject(data));

            StartActivity(intent);var intent = new Intent
        }

        public void SessionRequestError(BranchError error)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Branch session initialization error: " + error.ErrorCode);
            Console.WriteLine(error.ErrorMessage);

            var intent = new Intent(this, typeof(BranchErrorActivity));
            intent.PutExtra("ErrorCode", error.ErrorCode);
            intent.PutExtra("ErrorMessage", error.ErrorMessage);

            StartActivity(intent);
        }
    }
}

Initialize Branch With Xamarin.Forms

Create a Class for Branch Session Handling

Right-click on the C# project and select Add → New File.
Select General → Empty Class.
Rename the file TestXamarinFormsApp.cs.
Add the following code:

using BranchXamarinSDK;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using Xamarin.Forms;

// Replace `TestXamarinFormsApp` with actual name of your app
namespace TestXamarinFormsApp
{
    public class TestXamarinFormsApp : Application, IBranchSessionInterface
    {

        public TestXamarinFormsApp()
        {
        }

        #region IBranchSessionInterface implementation

        public void InitSessionComplete(Dictionary<string, object> data)
        {
        }

        public void SessionRequestError(BranchError error)
        {
        }

        #endregion
    }
}

Create a Class for Handling Link Data

Branch stores link data in an object referred to as the Branch Universal Object, or BUO.

Right-click on the C# project and select Add → New File.
Select General →Empty Class.
Rename the file TestXamarinFormsAppBUO.cs.
Add the following code:

using BranchXamarinSDK;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using Xamarin.Forms;

// Replace `TestXamarinFormsApp` with actual name of your app
namespace TestXamarinFormsApp
{
    public class TestXamarinFormsAppBUO : Application, IBranchBUOSessionInterface
    {

        public TestXamarinFormsAppBUO()
        {
        }

        #region IBranchBUOSessionInterface implementation

        public void InitSessionComplete(BranchUniversalObject buo, BranchLinkProperties blp)
        {
        }

        public void SessionRequestError(BranchError error)
        {
        }

        #endregion
    }
}

Configure Application Class

Within the .Droid project's Application class:

Set the Branch SDK's initialization parameters.
Override the OnCreate() method so it calls the BranchAndroid.GetAutoInstance method.

If an Application class does not already exist for the project, create one:

Right-click on the .Droid project and select Add →New File.
Select General → Empty Class.
Name the file the same name as your app, for example TestXamarinFormsApp.
Add the following code:

using System;
using Android.App;
using Android.Content;
using Android.Runtime;
using BranchXamarinSDK;

// Replace `TestXamarinFormsApp` with actual name of your app
namespace TestXamarinFormsApp.Droid
{

    [Application (AllowBackup = true, Icon = "@drawable/icon", Label = "@string/app_name")]
    [MetaData("io.branch.sdk.auto_link_disable", Value = "false")]
    [MetaData("io.branch.sdk.TestMode", Value = "true")]
    [MetaData("io.branch.sdk.BranchKey", Value = "@string/branch_key")]

    public class App : Application
    {
        public App(IntPtr javaReference, JniHandleOwnership transfer) : base(javaReference, transfer)
        {
        }

        public override void OnCreate()
        {
            base.OnCreate();
            BranchAndroid.GetAutoInstance(this.ApplicationContext);
        }
    }
}

Key Value

io.branch.sdk.TestMode Setting this parameter to true enables Debug Mode, which causes simple uninstall/reinstalls of the app to trigger Install events. Be sure to disable this before deploying to production. Note that enabling Debug Mode on Android also forces the app to use the Branch test key if this key has been added to the project. Apps running with a test key will be unable to receive data from Branch Deep Links created with the live key.

Key	Value
`io.branch.sdk.TestMode`	Setting this parameter to `true` enables Debug Mode, which causes simple uninstall/reinstalls of the app to trigger Install events. Be sure to disable this before deploying to production. Note that enabling Debug Mode on Android also forces the app to use the Branch test key if this key has been added to the project. Apps running with a test key will be unable to receive data from Branch Deep Links created with the live key.
`io.branch.sdk.BranchKey`	The app's Branch key. Both a live key and a test key can be added to the `Strings.xml` file. When test mode is enabled, the app will automatically use the test key if one has been specified.

Initialize Branch

using System;

using Android.App;
using Android.Content;
using Android.Content.PM;
using Android.Runtime;
using Android.Views;
using Android.Widget;
using Android.OS;

using BranchXamarinSDK;
using TestXamarinFormsApp;

// Replace `TestXamarinFormsApp` with actual name of your app
namespace TestXamarinFormsApp.Droid
{
    [Activity(Label = "TestXamarinFormsApp.Droid", LaunchMode = LaunchMode.SingleTask, Icon = "@drawable/icon", Theme = "@style/MyTheme", MainLauncher = true, ConfigurationChanges = ConfigChanges.ScreenSize | ConfigChanges.Orientation)]

    [IntentFilter(new[] { "android.intent.action.VIEW" },
        Categories = new[] { "android.intent.category.DEFAULT", "android.intent.category.BROWSABLE" },
        DataScheme = "testxamarinformsapp",
        DataHost = "open")]

    [IntentFilter(new[] { "android.intent.action.VIEW" },
        Categories = new[] { "android.intent.category.DEFAULT", "android.intent.category.BROWSABLE" },
        DataScheme = "https",
        DataHost = "testxamarinformsapp.app.link")]

    public class MainActivity : global::Xamarin.Forms.Platform.Android.FormsApplicationActivity
    {
        protected override void OnCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
        {
            base.OnCreate(savedInstanceState);

            global::Xamarin.Forms.Forms.Init(this, savedInstanceState);

            TestXamarinFormsAppBUO linkData = new TestXamarinFormsAppBUO();
            BranchAndroid.Init(this, GetString(Resource.String.branch_key), linkData);
            LoadApplication(linkData);
        }

        protected override void OnNewIntent(Intent intent)
        {
            this.Intent = intent;
        }
    }
}

Troubleshoot

iOS

Deep Link Testing

To test whether your app is properly configured to support Branch Deep Links:

Create a Branch Deep Link on the Branch Marketing Dashboard.
Delete your app from your test device.
Compile your app with Xcode.
Paste the Branch Deep Link in the device's Apple Notes app.
Long press on the Branch Deep Link (not 3D Touch).
Click Open in to open your app.

NuGet Package Failures

Adding required NuGet packages to the C# project may fail if the project has not been configured to use PCL 4.5 - Profile78. To solve this:

Right-click on the project name and select Options.
Browse the menu to Build → General.
Change the Current Profile to PCL 4.5 - Profile78 and try again.

Provisioning Profile Failures

Xamarin automatically populates the Bundle Identifier field in the Info.plist file with an all-lowercase value derived from the app's name. This value is in fact case-sensitive and must match the value in the Apple Developer Portal precisely. The default Xamarin configuration may work when there are no entitlements configured, and then suddenly begin failing after entitlements have been added.

This issue can be resolved by ensuring that the Bundle Identifier in the Info.plist matches the Bundle Identifier shown on the Apple Developer Portal. To make this change:

Open the Info.plist file.
Enter the app's Bundle Identifier from the Apple Developer Portal in the Bundle Identifier field.

Xamarin Sample Applications

Branch has created fully functional Xamarin Native and Xamarin.Forms apps for iOS for you to use as reference models for integrating the Branch SDK.

Xamarin Native: Testbed-Xamarin

Xamarin.Forms: Testbed-XamarinForms

Android

Deep Link Testing

To test whether your app is properly configured to support Branch Deep Links:

Create a Branch Deep Link on the Branch Marketing Dashboard.
Delete your app from your test device.
Compile your app with Android Studio.
Paste the Branch Deep Link in the device's Google Hangouts app.
Click on the Branch Deep Link.

Linking Errors During Build

The Newtonsoft.Json NuGet package is automatically added to a project when the Branch-Xamarin-Linking-SDK package is added. There is a known issue with this package that results in linking errors when building a project:

error XA0009: Error while loading assembly: /Users/david/Projects/TestXamarinFormsApp/Droid/obj/Debug/android/assets/mscorlib.dll

To resolve this issue:

Right-click on the project and select Options.
Go to Android Build and select the Linker tab.
Select Release.
Go to the Ignore Assemblies box.
Add System.Core to the assemblies.
Rebuild the app.

iOS

📘iOS 14 Implementation

❗️Inconsistent Universal links behavior on iOS 11.2

1. Configure Branch Dashboard

2. Install Branch NuGet Package

3. Configure App

Create an Apple Device Provisioning Profile for the App

Configure the Xamarin Project's Info.plist File

Configure the Xamarin Project's Associated Domains Entitlement

Update the Project's Signing Identity and Provisioning Profile

4. Initialize Branch

Create a Class for Branch Session Handling

Create a Class for Handling Link Data

Add Branch Calls to the AppDelegate

Android

❗️Google Play Services version 17+

1. Configure Branch Dashboard

2. Install Branch NuGet Package

🚧Google Advertising Identifier (GAID)

3. Configure App

Ensure Android Project Is Not Using Shared Mono Runtime

Add App Capabilities in Manifest File

Add App's Branch Key

4. Initialize Branch

Initialize Branch Without Xamarin.Forms

Create an Activity to Handle Branch Events

Create an Activity to Handle Branch Errors

Initialize Branch and Configure Branch Session Management

Initialize Branch With Xamarin.Forms

Create a Class for Branch Session Handling

Create a Class for Handling Link Data

Configure Application Class

Initialize Branch

Troubleshoot

iOS

Deep Link Testing

NuGet Package Failures

Provisioning Profile Failures

Xamarin Sample Applications

Android

Deep Link Testing

Linking Errors During Build

📘
iOS 14 Implementation

❗️
Inconsistent Universal links behavior on iOS 11.2

❗️
Google Play Services version 17+

🚧
Google Advertising Identifier (GAID)