Do I need API level 35 or 36?

To upload anything new, 36. Level 35 is the floor for an existing app to stay visible to new users on newer Android versions without an update.

Can I still get an extension?

Google offered extensions to November 1, 2026, and that date has passed. Check Play Console for anything still showing on your app.

What do you need to fix it?

The repository, the Play Console warning text, and a device or emulator list you want it tested on. The free Google Play deadline checker on this site reads your Gradle files first.

Can you fix it for me?

If one bug is the whole problem, the App Fix Ticket covers it: a written diagnosis first, then the fix. If the app has more going on, the Launch Check is a written check of the whole app. Each issue found is rated critical, high, medium or low, with where it is and how it was confirmed. No issues worth fixing, no charge. If the Launch Check finds nothing rated medium or higher, Simon refunds the full $450. You keep the report either way. This applies to the first 10 Launch Checks bought after October 30, 2026.

Google Play “Target API Level 35” Warning? Fix

Google Play requirementGoogle Play: app must target API level 35 or 36

Play Console warns that your app doesn’t meet the target API level requirement, or rejects an update for it. Since August 31, 2026, new apps and updates must target Android 16 (API level 36), and existing apps below Android 15 (API level 35) stop reaching new users on newer phones. The extension Google offered ran to November 1, 2026. The fix is a build setting plus testing. Here it is in Google’s words, or hand it over at a fixed price.

Short answer

Set targetSdk (and compileSdk) to 36 in the app’s Gradle file, build, and test the screens that Android 15 and 16 change, then upload the new version. An app that doesn’t ship an update needs at least API level 35 to stay available to new users on newer Android versions. In Flutter, Expo or React Native, change it where the project sets the Android SDK versions, then check the built bundle.

What the requirement means, and the fix

01
Updates now need API level 36
“New apps and app updates must target Android 16 (API level 36) or higher to be submitted to Google Play” Google, Target API level requirements for Google Play apps
Any new upload, even a small fix, has to target Android 16. Wear OS, Android Automotive, Android TV and Android XR apps have their own levels in the same help page.
02
An older app is hidden from new users
“Existing apps must target Android 15 (API level 35) or higher to remain available to new users on devices running Android OS higher than your app’s target API level.” Google, Target API level requirements for Google Play apps
An app you haven’t updated in a while stays installed for existing users, but people on newer Android versions can’t find or install it until it targets API level 35 or higher.
03
Where to change it
“you can confirm or change the current value of targetSdkVersion in your app's Gradle file” Android Developers, Meet Google Play’s target API level requirement
Set it in the app module’s Gradle file. The code below is the Kotlin form (build.gradle.kts); in a Groovy build.gradle write compileSdk 36 and targetSdk 36 without the equals sign. Flutter projects set it in android/app/build.gradle or build.gradle.kts, Expo projects through the build properties config, and React Native projects with targetSdkVersion in the ext block of android/build.gradle. If the build then complains about the Android Gradle Plugin, update it too.
```
android {
    compileSdk = 36
    defaultConfig {
        targetSdk = 36
    }
}
```
04
Test what the new level changes
“Some of these changes only apply to apps that explicitly declare support through their targetSdkVersion manifest attribute (also known as the target API level).” Android Developers, Meet Google Play’s target API level requirement
Raising the number opts the app into each Android version’s behavior changes, which Android Developers lists per version. Run the app on an Android 15 and an Android 16 device or emulator before you upload.

Checked against the vendor’s docs on November 7, 2026: Play Console Help: Target API level requirements for Google Play apps; Android Developers: Meet Google Play’s target API level requirement.

Rather hand it over?

Fixed scope, fixed price, paid upfront. The work happens in writing; no call needed.

Google Play requirementGoogle Play: app must target API level 35 or 36

What the requirement means, and the fix

Updates now need API level 36

An older app is hidden from new users

Where to change it

Test what the new level changes

Rather hand it over?

More on this launch

Describe it and get a written quote