How to fix: Broken Functionality During Review

Exact Email Message Received

"Your app has been rejected and wasn't published due to a policy violation. Issue: Broken Functionality. We found that your app contains blank screens, crashes, or doesn't install."

Why did this happen?

When you apply to publish your app to the Google Play Store, a human reviewer at Google manually downloads and tests your application. If your app crashes, freezes, or fails to install on their specific testing device, you will receive this Broken Functionality policy violation.

Why it happens even if the app works for you:

Device Fragmentation: You may have tested your app on a modern device, but the reviewer tested it on an older Android version or different screen size.
Network Issues: Your app might crash if it fails to handle slow internet connections gracefully.
SDK Conflicts: Outdated third-party libraries (like ad networks or analytics) can cause silent crashes on launch.

How to fix it

Fixing a broken functionality rejection requires identifying the exact crash point.

Step-by-Step Fix:

Open your Google Play Console.
Navigate to Pre-launch report > Crashes and ANRs (App Not Responding).
Look for the screenshot or device log (Logcat) that Google attached to the rejection. This will usually show you exactly which screen or function caused the crash.
Fix the bug in your code.
Generate a new Android App Bundle (.aab), upload it to your closed testing track, and resubmit for review.

Pro Tip: By using the 12PlayTesters 20-tester package, our team tests your app on a wide variety of real Android devices and provides detailed bug reports *before* you apply for production, preventing this rejection entirely.