Debugging Android App Links

  • Published on Feb 17, 2025

  1. Confirm the device browser is NOT the default handler for xx.app.link domain

    1. Android App Links sets the app as the default handler for a domain (i.e., xx.app.link). If a user clicks a link before App Links is enabled, they’ll have the option to open in browser or in app. If the browser is selected with “always”, that domain will never open the app.

    2. Reset browser defaults: Settings → Apps → select the browser → Defaults → “Clear Defaults”

  2. If one domain is failing verification, App Links is disabled for every other domain too

    1. Every domain & subdomain in Manifest must host a DAL file at: https://[domain]/.well-known/assetlinks.json

    2. Even if autoVerify="true" is not in all intent filters, Android will scrape every domain

    3. Confirm Branch dashboard & all other DAL files contain the correct SHA 256 fingerprint

    4. Confirm app’s compileSdkVersion in build.gradle is 23+

    5. All link domains must be publicly accessible (not behind firewall/vpn) and accessible by Google's bots

  3. Validate App Links : Install app > connect device to Android Studio > ./adb shell dumpsys package d

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