Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission. Learn more.
Someone at Amazon forgot to test the Appstore on Android 12 (Updated: Statement)
- The Amazon Appstore is broken on Android 12 devices.
- Users are unable to launch apps downloaded from Amazon’s store.
- Amazon has since acknowledged the issue and that a fix is incoming.
Update: December 1, 2021 (12:34 AM ET): Amazon has now responded after it emerged that the Amazon Appstore and apps downloaded from the storefront were broken on Android 12.
“We are aware and working to resolve an issue impacting app performance and launches for the small number of Amazon Appstore users that have upgraded to Android 12 on their mobile devices. This issue does not impact Amazon Fire Tablets or Fire TV devices,” the company noted in a statement to Android Authority.
Original article: November 30, 2021 (1:20 AM ET): The Google Play Store is the overwhelmingly popular choice when it comes to downloading Android apps, but the Amazon Appstore is one of the more prominent alternatives out there. In fact, it’s also the Android app market of choice for Windows 11.
Unfortunately, it seems like the Amazon Appstore is broken on Android 12 more than a month after the update’s release to device manufacturers. More specifically, users on the Amazon support forum (h/t: Slashdot and Liliputing) complain that most if not all of their apps downloaded from Amazon’s storefront aren’t working on their Android 12 devices.
The issue seems to be related to Amazon’s DRM and applies to both free and paid apps. Some users also say their app library isn’t showing up on the Amazon AppStore app either.
The first complaints appeared just over a month ago, and there were still comments trickling in as recently as today. So it seems like Amazon might be dragging its feet on this situation. It’s not a good look at all, as beta versions of Android 12 had been available for testing for months.
Nevertheless, the company has since taken to running a message in the app for affected users:
We’re excited about Android 12 too. Unfortunately we’re working through some issues. Thank you for your patience as we get your Appstore back
Haven’t upgraded to Android 12 yet? Well, if you’re an Amazon Appstore user, we’d clearly caution against doing so for now. There’s simply no way of knowing how long it will take for the issue to be addressed.