Become an Early App Tester Even If the Beta Program is Full

If you’re someone who loves exploring new apps and trying out new features, chances are you’ve signed up as a beta tester in the Play Store at least once. Then you’re also likely to have seen a message saying that the beta program is full. It’s an efficient and cost-effective way to recruit users to test new features which are especially useful to smaller developers. But here we take a look at some ways to sign up as a beta tester even when the beta program is full.

Sign Up as a Beta Tester When the Program is Full

Play Store Method

Traditionally to sign up for a beta, users would just head over to the app which hosts a beta program, scroll down to the bottom of the page and hit the I’m In button. Due to high demand its natural for developers to pause or stop new sign-ups. In such cases, the next method might come in handy.

Traditional method to sign up for beta

Solution: Google Plus Method

This might seem like a no-brainer once fully explained but a lot of people just aren’t aware of this route. Simple Google the name of the app and the keyword “beta” or “google plus”. If the app is popular enough or indexed well, you’ll likely see a Google Plus link to the app’s community.

Here’s an example search for Nova Launcher

Link to Beta Opt-in found in Google Plus Community

Once you’re a part of this community, links to become a tester are automatically revealed in the sidebar. Just visit the link and hit Become a Tester and the app on your phone will automatically switch to beta the next time its updated.

Sign-up using a URL

If you found this method really bewildering & clunky it’s because before Google rolled out official support for beta testing within the Play Store, this was the go-to method to get beta testers. Fortunately, this solution still works!

Email the developer from Play Store

The Uber app’s testing pool, for example, was full but this simple method managed to help me get in so I have no reservations recommending this method to readers. If you’re still unable to find such a link, your best bet would be the contact the developer directly through their website (if it exists) or via the Play Store.

But remember to always address them politely when making the case for letting you test their app.

Managing Beta Apps

Access Beta tab from My apps section

Now easier than ever to manage Beta apps from the Play Store. This is because Google introduced a separate tab for Beta apps making opting out even easier.

To opt out of the beta, visit the app page and select the Leave button after scrolling down to the bottom. If you immediately regret the decision, you can always hit the Rejoin as long as you don’t exit out of the screen. Do let us know which apps you signed up using the old method!