Testing & Troubleshooting

Testing deferred linking on Android has platform constraints, mainly around install referrer availability and app-link verification state.

Deferred flow constraints

• Deferred matching is intended for first-launch flow after install.
• Deterministic matching uses Play Install Referrer click_id when available.
• If install referrer is unavailable, SDK falls back to probabilistic matching.
• Repeated deferred attempts in same install/session return NotFirstLaunch.

Recommended deferred test flow

1. Uninstall the app from the device or emulator.
2. Open a Detour link in a browser.
3. Install and launch the app.
4. Verify LinkResult.Success with type = DEFERRED, or expected fallback (NoLink / Error).
5. Relaunch the app and confirm the deferred link is not consumed again, that is LinkResult.NotFirstLaunch.

Missing click_id

If you encounter click_id missing in your build see limitations section Play Store referrer missing

Testing app links and scheme links

For app-link/scheme integration (LinkProcessingMode.ALL), verify both cold and warm starts.

App Link via ADB

adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW \
  -d "https://<your-link-domain>/products/42" \
  <your.package.name>

Expected: LinkResult.Success with type = VERIFIED.

Custom scheme via ADB

adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW \
  -d "myapp://products/42" \
  <your.package.name>

Expected: LinkResult.Success with type = SCHEME (only when LinkProcessingMode.ALL).

App Link verification and the SHA-256 fingerprint

An autoVerify App Link opens your app only if the Dashboard SHA-256 matches the key that signed the installed APK:

How the app is installed	Signed with	Where to read the SHA-256
Google Play, any track	Play App Signing key	Play Console → Protected with Play → Manage Play app signing → App signing key certificate
Android Studio run / ./gradlew assembleDebug	AGP default debug keystore	keytool -list -v -keystore ~/.android/debug.keystore -storepass android, or ./gradlew signingReport
./gradlew assembleRelease with your own config	Your release keystore	keytool -list -v -keystore <path-to-your.keystore>, or ./gradlew signingReport

./gradlew signingReport prints the Store: path each variant really uses, so it stays correct when a project overrides signingConfigs.debug. To check a binary directly: apksigner verify --print-certs app-debug.apk.

Then check what the device made of it:

adb shell pm verify-app-links --re-verify <your.package.name>
adb shell pm get-app-links <your.package.name>   # expect: verified

The complete procedure is described in Finding your Android SHA-256 fingerprint.

Troubleshooting checklist

• Detour SDK not initialized
  • Detour.initialize(...) was not called before processLink() / getDeferredLink().
• Immediate NoLink
  • no matching click found. Verify the link click happened before install.
• Always NotFirstLaunch
  • first-launch flag already stored. Reinstall the app for deferred testing.
• App links open browser instead of app
  • check Dashboard app-link domain config and manifest intent-filter alignment.
  • confirm the Dashboard SHA-256 matches the key that signed the installed APK. See App Link verification and the SHA-256 fingerprint.
• Custom scheme not handled
  • verify manifest <data android:scheme="..."> and LinkProcessingMode.ALL.
• Analytics events not visible
  • ensure valid apiKey/appId and call DetourAnalytics only after SDK initialization.

Debugging

Use logcat while testing:

adb logcat | grep -i detour

Useful tags from SDK internals:

• Detour
• DetourApiClient
• InstallReferrerHelper
• DetourAnalytics

For complete end-to-end sample flows, use Examples.