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I am using the Downloader Library in my project in order to download the app's binary files from Google Play.

I've found the Google library extremely buggy, clumsy and hard to incorporate, and I wondered if there are any known alternatives.

I thought about getting the file URL myself and using the platform's DownloadManager to download it into the normal OBB path. Did anyone do that, or implement a simple APK expansion downloader on his own?

I would be glad for feedback before doing a change like that.

SirKnigget
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Before expansion was added to Google Play everybody (especially game developers) were just downloading file on their own.

Using download manager might be ok for that.

MaciejGórski
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  • Right, but you need your own file hosting for that... I am talking about using the APK Expansion mechanism, but not using Google's Downloader Library - just downloading the file on your own. Can the DownloadManager work normally with the expansion's URL provided by Google Play? (assuming I did the license check myself) – SirKnigget Jul 13 '13 at 21:42
  • i wonder, in which location exactly in the code did you get the url from the expansion file, and why do you want to use the downloader to download it, instead of the expansion library? you do know that when the user downloads the app from the play store, the file will be downloaded along with the app, right? – android developer Jul 13 '13 at 21:55
  • Sometimes the file is downloaded, and sometimes it isn't. Google's instructions are to implement the download in case Google Play didn't download it for you. So you must have a working downloader in your app if you have expansion files. http://developer.android.com/google/play/expansion-files.html#Downloading – SirKnigget Jul 13 '13 at 22:13
  • Regarding URL - if you implement downloading yourself (Not using Google's Downloader library), you fetch the URL as part of the license check. http://developer.android.com/google/play/expansion-files.html#ExpansionPolicy – SirKnigget Jul 13 '13 at 22:16