You should be testing your integration throughout development. To test during the development phase, we recommend leveraging license testers to run through the scenarios described in this topic. To configure license testers, see Test in-app billing with application licensing.
Using license testers provide the following benefits:
- Ordinarily, the Google Play Billing Library is blocked for apps that aren't signed and uploaded to Google Play. License testers can bypass this check, meaning you can sideload apps for testing, even for apps using debug builds with debug signatures without the need to upload to the new version of your app. Note that the package name must match that of the app that is configured for Google Play, and the Google account must be a license tester for the Google Play Console account.
- License testers have access to test payment methods that avoid charging the testers real money for purchases. You can also use test payment methods to simulate certain situations, such as when a payment is declined. Figure 1 shows these test forms of payment as they appear within the purchase flow.
- License testers can rapidly test subscription features.
Here are some additional details about the test purchase process:
- Test purchases use the same app purchase flow used by actual purchases.
- Taxes are not computed for test purchases.
- Google Play indicates a test purchase by displaying a notice across the center of the purchase dialog.
You can confirm the account that is making a purchase by expanding the purchase dialog. Note the following:
- Test accounts must be on the tester's Android device.
- If the device has more than one account, the purchase is made with the account that downloaded the app.
- If none of the accounts have downloaded the app, the purchase is made with the first account.
Before distributing your app, you can make use of Google Play test tracks to perform additional validation. For example, you can leverage test tracks to have your QA team qualify a new release.
With test tracks, users can install your app from Google Play and test a version of your app that is not yet publicly available. Users can make real purchases using any of their payment methods in Google Play.
To test your Google Play Billing Library integration using test tracks, do the following:
- Publish your app to a test track. Note that after you publish an app to a testing track, it can take a few hours for the app to be available for testers.
- Ensure each tester opts-in to your app's test. On your test's opt-in URL, your testers see an explanation of what it means to be a tester along with a link to opt-in.
You can test your integration on any Android-powered hardware device running Android 1.6 or higher. The most current version of the Google Play application must be installed on the device. For general information about how to set up a device for use in developing Android applications, see Using Hardware Devices.
Test one-time products
Test consumable products
When testing consumable products, we recommend testing a variety of situations, including the following:
- A successful purchase where the user receives an item. With a license tester, you can use the Test instrument, always approves payment method.
- A purchase where the payment method failed to be charged, and the user should not receive the item. With a license tester you can use the Test instrument, always declines payment method.
- Ensure items can be purchased multiple times.
You should also verify that purchases are properly acknowledged as described in processing purchases. For purchases from license testers, a purchase will be refunded after 3 minutes if your app does not acknowledge the purchase and you will receive an email about the cancellation. You can also check the Orders tab in the Google Play Console to see if an order was refunded after 3 minutes.
Test non-consumable products
Non-consumables should be tested the same as consumables, but you should verify an item cannot be purchased again within your app. Be sure to verify purchase acknowledgement for both non-consumables and consumables (when applicable) since the logic to process each the two types of purchases vary.
Test subscription-specific features
The purchase flows for one-time products and subscriptions are similar, but subscriptions have additional scenarios, such as successful or declined subscription renewals. To test renewals, you can use the Test instrument, always approves and Test instrument, always declines payment methods that are available for license testers, as shown in figure 1. Use these payment instruments to test scenarios beyond the successful subscription scenario.
Similiar to one-time products, you should also verify that purchases are properly acknowledged as described in processing purchases. For purchases from license testers, a purchase will be refunded after 3 minutes if your app does not acknowledge the purchase and you will receive an email about the cancellation. You can also check the Orders tab in Google Play Console to see if an order was refunded after 3 minutes.
Renewal periods
Test subscriptions renew more quickly than actual subscriptions, and test subscriptions can renew a maximum of six times.
The following table lists the testing renewal times for subscriptions of various durations. These times are approximate. You may see small variations in the precise time of an event. To compensate for variation, call the API to view the current status after every subscription expiration date.
| Production subscription period | Test subscription renewal |
| 1 week | 5 minutes |
| 1 month | 5 minutes |
| 3 months | 10 minutes |
| 6 months | 15 minutes |
| 1 year | 30 minutes |
Time-based subscription features such as free-trials are also shortened for testing. The following table identifies the testing time periods associated with time-based subscription features:
| Feature | Test period |
| Purchase acknowledgement | 5 minutes |
| Free trial | 3 minutes |
| Introductory price period | Same as subscription test period |
| Grace period (both 3- and 7-day) | 5 minutes |
| Account hold | 10 minutes |
| Pause (1 month) | 5 minutes |
| Pause (2 months) | 10 minutes |
| Pause (3 months) | 15 minutes |
Test Cases
Expand the following section by clicking Show/Hide to show testing scenarios you should use to verify your subscription integration.
Test promo codes
You can use the Google Play Console to create codes for your own testing. Keep in mind that you may only create 500 promo codes per quarter across all managed products in an app.
You should test the following promo code redemption scenarios:
- When the promo code is entered in the purchase dialog that was launched within your app.
- When the promo code is redeemed in the Google Play Store app.
- When the promo code is redeemed at https://play.google.com/store using the Redeem button in the left-hand navigation.
Within these scenarios, you should test redeeming codes in as many ways as possible. We recommend perform the following tests at a minimum:
- Redemption before the app is installed.
- Redemption while the app is running in the foreground. Note that for this test, you need another device to test using the Google Play Store app. Be sure to test redemptions from different screens in your app.
- Redemption with multi-window mode, where both your app and the Google Play Store app are being displayed at the same time.
For each test, make sure that the item is correctly detected and that the user is notified.