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Is it possible to build an Ad Hoc build of our app and send it to our beta testers? Is this even possible?

Daniel Kutik
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Buju
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3 Answers3

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Microsoft have just announced the beta test feature that @MattLacey had spoken off. Some of the benefits include

  • Submitting your application for beta distribution is free.
  • Submitting your application for beta distribution does not count against your submission credits.
  • You put your application into the hands of testers prior to releasing the application to the general public.
  • You have complete control over who can participate in the beta testing of your application.
  • Users download and install your application using the standard Windows Phone Marketplace procedures.
  • Your application can be tested on retail devices.
  • Your users do not have to be registered developers.

Hopefully this process is as pains free and developer friendly as possible.

ajmccall
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  • Does anyone know if it is incorrect to make this answer as right now that it correctly answers the question? – ajmccall Sep 29 '11 at 07:34
  • This is great answer for the question.. I check with more e-posts and finally happy with this Ans. and also we can check with this post http://blog.tomverhoeff.nl/2011/08/13/using-private-beta-distribution-for-testing-your-wp7-app/ having images ref. +1 – Naga Harish M Feb 07 '12 at 05:15
  • @ajmccall I am planning a beta this weekend. How long does it take from submission to beta on dev center to the testers getting the email? – DotNetRussell Aug 08 '13 at 17:14
  • @AMR, it's quick. About 2 hours. – ajmccall Aug 09 '13 at 09:22
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You can build the XAP for your application and distribute it to your beta testers, but they will require a developer unlocked phone to be able to deploy the application to their phone. There is no mechanism within the Marketplace to distribute an application as a beta to a wider audience. There are plenty of people out there with developer unlocked phones, so if you're looking for beta testers, you could always post a message on Twitter using the #wp7dev hashtag.

Derek Lakin
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  • so i don't have to enable some extra options for it to work for beta testers? the only requirements are dev unlocked phone and deployment tool? – Buju Feb 25 '11 at 12:52
  • Well it probably makes sense to implement some form of expiration in your application for the beta release, but no nothing else. – Derek Lakin Feb 25 '11 at 13:48
  • 2 years later ... http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windowsphone/help/jj215598(v=vs.105).aspx "Your app can be tested on retail devices that don’t need to be unlocked, and testers don't have to be registered developers." and "Your app can support thousands of beta testers." – Tedd Hansen Sep 21 '13 at 11:25
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Microsoft have repeatedly said that this functionality will be coming (it was promised before launch) but a formal method for doing this is not presently available and there is no official time scale for it.

If you're not able/willling to share your XAP file then some people have suggested just releasing it to the marketplace in it's beta form and making it clear that it is still a beta. e.g. call it MyAppBeta; be explicit about the beta status in the marketplace description and in the app.

Once testing is over you can remove the beta app and add the real version.

Matt Lacey
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  • but that will use up 1 free submission count. thats not very good i think ;) – Buju Feb 25 '11 at 12:44
  • @Buju I don't really think using 1 out of 100 submissions is really a big deal if it enables you to easily get your app to lots of beta testers! – Matt Lacey Feb 25 '11 at 12:47
  • here is what it says on the homepage: "There's a limit of five (5) free submissions for free apps; thereafter, there's a fee of $19.99 per submission for free apps." But there are no limit for submitting paid appgs. So this is not a good way to distribute beta software. – Buju Feb 25 '11 at 13:01
  • The limit has been increased to 100 for apps now, but even so, beta testing isn't a great way to use them up. – Derek Lakin Feb 25 '11 at 13:49
  • It's an option and appropriate in some (but, no, not all) cases. – Matt Lacey Feb 25 '11 at 14:12