HockeyApp, Fabric and App Center Are Gone: Beta Testing and Crash Reporting in 2026

HockeyApp, Fabric, BuddyBuild and Visual Studio App Center are gone, and the old links to them lead nowhere. In 2026 the simple answer is this: use TestFlight for iOS betas, Google Play testing tracks for Android betas, and Firebase Crashlytics or Sentry for crash reports. All of them have a free way in.

This guide replaces the "alternatives to TestFlight" lists that still point at dead sites. Dates come from the vendor's own announcement where one still exists. Limits and prices were checked on the vendor's pages on October 17, 2026.

What shut down, and when

We checked each old domain on October 17, 2026. The pattern repeats. A small developer-tools company is bought by a platform owner, the product is folded into something else, and the old URL dies. The tools you can rely on longest are the ones the platform owner builds for itself: TestFlight, Google Play and Crashlytics.

Beta distribution in 2026

Apple's published rule is that external testing needs Beta App Review for the first build. Allow time for it before you promise a date to a client.

Crash reporting in 2026

On Bugsnag, the pricing page lists its paid plans as Select, Preferred and Enterprise and carries a SmartBear copyright. We could not read a clear first paid price, so we do not quote one.

How to choose

1. You only need to hand a build to a client or a few testers. TestFlight for iOS and Play internal testing for Android. They are free, official and unlikely to disappear.
2. You want one tool for both platforms. Firebase App Distribution lets you send one invite flow for iOS and Android builds. You still need to follow Apple's rules for installing on test devices.
3. Your app is already on Firebase. Use Crashlytics. It is free and sits in the same console as your auth, database and messaging.
4. You also run a website or an API. Sentry puts mobile, web and server errors in one place. Check the free limits against your traffic first, because 5k errors a month goes fast on a noisy app.
5. You were burned by a shutdown. Keep your build pipeline in files you own (fastlane or plain scripts), keep release notes in your repo, and pick tools run by Apple, Google or a company whose main product is that tool.

Setup checklist for a Flutter app

1. Apple side. Create the app in App Store Connect, add internal testers, then upload a build from Xcode or fastlane. Add an external group only when you are ready for Beta App Review.
2. Google side. Create the app in Play Console and upload an app bundle to the internal testing track. Add testers by email and share the opt-in link.
3. Pick one crash reporter. Both have official Flutter packages. As of October 17, 2026, firebase_crashlytics is at version 6.0.0 and sentry_flutter is at version 10.1.0 on pub.dev.
4. Crashlytics route. Run flutter pub add firebase_crashlytics firebase_analytics, then flutterfire configure. Set FlutterError.onError to FirebaseCrashlytics.instance.recordFlutterFatalError, and PlatformDispatcher.instance.onError for async errors.
5. Sentry route. Run npx @sentry/wizard@latest -i flutter. It adds sentry_flutter and sentry_dart_plugin and patches main.dart. As of October 17, 2026, Sentry's docs list Flutter 3.44.0 and Dart 3.12.0 or later.
6. Upload symbols. If you build with --split-debug-info or --obfuscate, upload the symbols or the stack traces will be unreadable. For Crashlytics on Android, run firebase crashlytics:symbols:upload --app=FIREBASE_APP_ID PATH/TO/symbols. On iOS, Firebase says Flutter 3.12.0 or later with Crashlytics plugin 3.3.4 or later can generate and upload the dSYMs for you. For Sentry, use sentry_dart_plugin.
7. Force a test crash in a release build, not only in debug, and confirm it shows up readable in the dashboard.
8. Write down who gets the alert. A crash report nobody reads is the same as having none.

Need a hand?

App369 is Simon Dziak's studio. He builds and runs Workspace369, a production Flutter and Firebase SaaS.

• A crash or a build that fails on one platform: the App Fix Ticket diagnoses one issue for $450 (3 business days) and fixes it for $1,200 (5 business days), both fixed price.
• Cost problems on Firebase: the Firebase Cost-Cut Audit, $750 fixed price, 5 business days.