Existing app continuation & modernisation

Area: Mobile Applications · Usual shape: mobile review, then continuation · The first decision: continue or rebuild

An app that stops being updated does not stay as it was; it degrades — a new phone OS, expired packages, a store requiring what it did not require before. We start with a technical review that says plainly whether the existing build is worth continuing on, then get the app back to a state that can actually be released.

Talk to us about your project See the whole area

Opens WhatsApp. Nothing is sent until you press send there.

What this solves

The original developer is gone and nobody can publish an update.
A new phone OS release broke the app.
The store is threatening removal over requirements the app no longer meets.
Nobody knows where the signing keys are.

What we build

A review of the code, architecture and dependencies, specific to the mobile build.
A written report of what was found and what is a risk.
Recovery of store accounts and signing keys, by a procedure the owner performs.
Dependency updates and a supported-OS-version decision.
Fixing what actually blocks a release, before anything cosmetic.
A first release published under our supervision.
Documentation of how to build and publish it.
A plan for the next release cycle.

Where it is used

The original developer is unavailable.
The app works but cannot be updated.
The app was removed from a store, or is about to be.
A phone OS update broke it.

What this does not include

We do not guarantee that any existing code is worth continuing — the review decides that.
We cannot recover store accounts without their owner’s cooperation.
We do not enter code-ownership disputes.
We do not perform penetration testing or issue a security certificate.
Non-mobile systems are covered by our technical audit and project takeover service instead.

How the work goes

The review comes first, and it is short compared with the cost of getting the decision wrong.
We separate what blocks a release from what is merely untidy.
We get one release out before planning anything larger.
We document the build and publish path, so the app is never one person deep again.

Custom mobile applications
when the honest answer is a new app rather than a rescue.
Technical audit & project takeover
for the same problem on a system that is not a mobile app.
Ongoing maintenance & support
once it is releasable again and needs to stay that way.
Continuous development
when the app is sound and needs to move forward.

Questions about this service

How long does the review take?

Short — it is a review, not a rebuild. What it produces is a written assessment and a recommendation, and we agree its scope before starting so it does not quietly become the project.

What if the code is not worth continuing?

We say so, in writing, even though it means less work for us. A flattering report that leads you to spend months on an unsalvageable build helps nobody.

What do we need to provide to start?

Access to the source, and whatever you have about the store accounts. We list exactly what access is needed and you grant it yourselves — we never ask for passwords.

Can you publish without the previous developer?

Only if the store account and signing keys can be recovered by you as the owner. That is the first thing we check, because it decides whether continuation is possible at all.

Do you take the app on afterwards?

If both sides agree after the review. We do not commit to maintaining an app we have not seen, and you are not committed to us by commissioning the review.

Tell us what the app is, and what has stopped working.

Talk to us on WhatsApp Or send the details through the form