One annoying thing about installing apps from outside the Google Play Store is that they don’t auto-update. It’s a pain to download a new APK and reinstall it to get the updated version every time. Let me show you two ways to automatically update those apps.
Setting up Obtanium
This app automatically fetches updates and installs them with one tap
Obtanium is built to automatically fetch updates from your specified sources and install them with your permission. It’s a free and open-source app.
You start by installing Obtanium and adding package sources. You can add GitHub repos, F-Droid links, or even a direct link from a website (APKMirror, for example). Obtanium will periodically run in the background and scan the sources for any available updates.
Obtanium supports some dozen sources, which you can find listed on the Obtanium Wiki. You can also tap the little “supported sources” link inside the app to see the list.
When there is an update, Obtanium will notify you to download and install the app.
In some cases, this Obtanium setup is faster if you want to get bleeding-edge updates from the developer because they need store approval to publish updates, but not for their GitHub repos, for example.
You can download Obtanium from the developer’s website or the official GitHub repo.
There are four versions of the app meant for different CPU architectures. You can look up the CPU architecture of your phone and download the matching APK. For most phones, armv7 or the universal versions will do just fine.
Once you’ve installed Obtanium, the first thing to do is add sources for your target apps. For example, I usually download Heliboard (an alternative to Google’s Gboard) from GitHub, so I’ll just add the link to its GitHub repo to Obtanium.
Even if you don’t already have the app installed, when you add the source, Obtanium will give you the option to install it with one click.
Tap the “+Add App” tab to add a new source. Here you’ll see two ways to add new app sources. You can either search for your app by name or paste the repo link directly. It can search through 5 sources, including GitHub and F-Droid.
GitLab and GitHub releases usually have installer packages for multiple CPU architectures, so just to make sure you’re getting the correct version, you can set Obtanium to filter the downloads by CPU architecture.
Tap “Add” when you’ve configured the source to add it to the list of Obtanium apps. I’ll now get a notification to update the app whenever a new version pops up on the GitHub repo.
You’ll need to give Obtanium permission to install apps the first time you update an app.
Once you’ve built your list of apps, it’s a good idea to jump to the “Import/Export” tab and tap “Pick export directory.” This way, when you’re setting up a new phone, you can simply import the list into Obtanium to install all your apps and put them on the Obtanium update list in one tap.
You can also configure how often Obtanium scans for updates in Obtanium settings.
Obtanium can also update apps silently in the background
Automatically downloading and installing app updates using Obtanium
So far, we’ve seen how to add apps to the Obtanium list and get notified when the app update becomes available. At that point, you tap a button in Obtanium to fetch and install the update. By default, it’s not as seamless as the Google Play Store experience, which automatically updates the apps in the background without user interaction. However, you can build an automated setup like that in Obtanium, too.
App installation requires special permissions that Android doesn’t grant to user apps. To get around that, we can use Shizuku. Shizuku is a free and open-source app that uses the wireless debugging features on Android in order to grant elevated privileges to apps. Shizuku will grant those elevated permissions to Obtanium, which can then automatically install app updates unattended.
First Install Shizuku from the Google Play Store.
Start by turning on wireless debugging. You may need to enable developer options if they’re not already enabled. Then open Shizuku and tap “Pairing > Developer Options.” Here, tap “Wireless Debugging” (the text, not the toggle this time).
Tap “Pair device with pairing code” and note the 6-digit code it generates. Swipe down from the notification shade and look for the notification from Shizuku, asking you to enter the code. Enter the 6-digit code here and wait for the “Successfully paired” message.
Now back in Shizuku, tap “Start” to start the Shizuku service. Once it is up and running, go into “Authorized applications” and enable Obtanium.
Back to Obtanium, jump to the settings tab (gear icon) and enable “Use Dhizuku, Shizuiku, or Sui to install.”
With this toggle enabled, you’ll not see the confirmation dialogs from the Android OS. Apps will automatically and silently update in the background without any user interaction.
The Shizuku service will die when your phone reboots or if you disconnect from Wi-Fi, so you’ll need to re-enable it by tapping the “Start” button. There are ways to automate even this process to keep Shizuku running using an automation app like Tasker or Automate.
9/10
- Battery
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4700 mAh
- Ports
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USB-C
- Operating System
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Android 14 (at launch)
- Front camera
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10.5 MP Dual PD, ƒ/2.2 aperture, 95° field of view
Obtanium makes app updates easy
Even without the automation system, Obtanium greatly simplifies updating apps installed from outside Google’s sources. You can also use the Obtanium import/export features to quickly set up new devices.
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
