Mobile App Testing

QA.tech supports testing native iOS and Android applications using the same AI agent that powers web testing. The agent interacts with your app through touch gestures, hardware controls, and deep links.

Network Access

QA.tech test runs originate from a fixed pool of IP addresses. If your app connects to a backend that has a firewall, VPN gateway, IP allowlist, or rate-limiting rules, you must whitelist these IPs to allow test traffic through.

Without whitelisting, your tests may fail with network errors, timeouts, or unexpected login failures even though the app itself works fine.

QA.tech IP Addresses

Find the current list of mobile testing IP ranges in the app under Settings → Network — see the Mobile Testing IP Whitelist section.

Mobile testing uses a different set of IP ranges than web testing, so the Outbound IPs API does not cover them. IP addresses may change — always use the live Mobile Testing IP Whitelist in Settings → Network as the authoritative source.

How to Add the Whitelist

Add the IP ranges from Settings → Network to your security system’s allowlist. The exact steps depend on your setup — see the IP Access Control guide for platform-specific instructions covering Cloudflare, AWS CloudFront, and other firewalls. Common places to add these rules:

Backend firewall or security group (AWS, GCP, Azure)
API gateway rate-limiting or allowlist rules
VPN / zero-trust gateway (e.g. Tailscale, Cloudflare Access, Zscaler)
Mobile backend service IP allowlists

Test Environments

Mobile tests run on cloud-hosted iOS Simulators and Android Emulators. Configure the simulator or emulator under Settings → Device Presets — see Mobile Device Presets for device model, OS version, orientation, location, network log capture, and override priority.

Environment	Status	Description
Cloud emulators	Available	iOS Simulator and Android Emulator in cloud
Real devices	Coming soon	Physical iOS and Android device testing

Limitations

Cloud iOS Simulators and Android Emulators cover touch, navigation, GPS, and deep links. They do not include some hardware sensors.

Feature	Status	Notes
Tap, double tap, long press, swipe, type	Available	iOS and Android
Home, app switcher, launch, close, restart, deep links	Available	iOS and Android
Back button	Android only
Volume up and down	Available	iOS and Android
Rotate during a test	Android only	On iOS, set orientation on the device preset before the run
GPS location	Available	Set on the device preset
Network request logs	Available	Enable Capture Network Logs on the device preset
Live view	Available	Watch the session from the test trace
Wait For dependencies	Available	Resume From is not supported for mobile
Companion / other apps	Available	Up to three additional builds on the same device
Real physical devices	Coming soon	Tests run on simulators and emulators
Device console logs	Coming soon
Microphone / audio input	Not available	Speech, dictation, voice notes, and voice search. Playing an audio file into the microphone is web-only
Camera	Not available	Live camera feed, QR codes, and barcode scanning
Bluetooth	Not available	Pairing, beacons, and nearby devices
NFC	Not available	Payments, tags, and tap-to-pair
Multi-touch / pinch-to-zoom	Not available	Maps and image zoom that require two fingers
Face ID / fingerprint	Not available	Biometric prompts are not simulated
Device shake	Not available	Shake-to-undo and similar gestures
App Store / Play Store builds	Not available	Upload a simulator or emulator build. See Preparing Your App Build

Some Android apps detect the emulator as a rooted device and refuse to start. If that happens, skip the rooted-device check on your staging build.

Debugging and Observability

Feature	Status	Description
Live view	Available	Watch tests run in real time from the test trace while a session is active
Network request logs	Available	Inspect HTTP requests in the test trace when network capture is enabled on the device preset
Device console logs	Coming soon	App console output in the test trace

AI Chat and Test Dependencies

When mobile testing is enabled for your organization, you can create, edit, and run mobile tests through the AI Chat Assistant — the same natural-language workflow as web testing. For test dependencies:

Wait For — supported. Use it to control execution order between mobile tests.
Resume From — not supported for mobile apps. Mobile tests cannot inherit app state from another test.

Coming Soon

Real device testing on physical iOS and Android hardware (selectable through device presets)
Device console logs in the test trace

Preparing Your App Build

Mobile testing requires a simulator or emulator build of your app, not an AppStore or Play Store distribution build. Follow the steps below for your platform.

iOS
Android

Prepare an iOS Simulator build (.app file compressed as .zip or .tar.gz). AppStore distribution builds (.ipa) are not supported - they are device-specific and cannot run on simulators.

Build with Xcode

Run and build your application in Xcode while targeting an iOS Simulator.Once the build is complete and the app is running in the simulator, locate the .app file:

In Xcode, go to Product → Show Build Folder in Finder
Navigate to Products/Debug-iphonesimulator/
Find your .app file

Build with Xcode Command Line Tools

xcodebuild -project '{project_name}.xcodeproj' \
  -scheme '{scheme_name}' \
  -sdk iphonesimulator \
  -configuration Debug

xcodebuild -workspace '{your_workspace_name}.xcworkspace' \
  -scheme '{scheme_name}' \
  -sdk iphonesimulator \
  -configuration Debug

The .app file is output to:

build/Debug-iphonesimulator/

Compress the .app file

Once you have the .app file, compress it before uploading:

zip -r AppName.zip AppName.app

Upload the resulting .zip (or .tar.gz) file - not the raw .app directory.

Prepare an APK file for your app. If your project produces an Android App Bundle (.aab), convert it to .apk first using the steps below.

Build with Android Studio

Select Build → Build APK(s) → Build APK(s)Once complete, click locate in the dialog that appears, or navigate to:

{project_name}/{app_module}/build/outputs/apk/

Build with Gradle

Run the assemble command for your preferred build variant:

./gradlew assembleDebug

The .apk file is output to:

{project_name}/{app_module}/build/outputs/apk/

Expo and React Native managed workflow

Native Android examples assume android/ already exists. Expo and React Native managed apps gitignore that folder. In CI, generate it before upload:

- run: npm ci
- run: npx expo prebuild --platform android --non-interactive --no-install
- run: cd android && ./gradlew assembleDebug --no-daemon

The debug APK path is typically android/app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk. EAS preview APKs also work if you wait for the build and download the artifact. Still upload a simulator or emulator binary, not a store .ipa.

Convert AAB to APK

If you only have an Android App Bundle (.aab), convert it using bundletool:

# Generate a universal APK set
bundletool build-apks --bundle=/{your_app}/{name}.aab \
    --output=/{your_app}/{name}.apks \
    --mode=universal

# Extract a single APK from the set
unzip -p /{your_app}/{name}.apks universal.apk > /{your_app}/{name}.apk

Upload the resulting .apk file.

iOS and Android on one application

Each mobile environment picks a platform (iOS or Android) and the build installed on that platform. One mobile application can hold both platforms as separate environments, and its tests run on the environment a test plan or run selects. Use one application when the apps share about 80 to 90 percent of their features, so the same steps still describe both. Login, navigation, and the core flows are the usual case. Add an environment for each platform and stage, for example iOS Staging and Android Staging. Create one test plan per platform. On each plan, select that platform’s environment and a device preset for the same platform, and include the same test cases in both plans. A shared flow such as login stays in one place. Use a separate mobile application for each platform when the apps are different enough to need their own test suites. A test case belongs to one application and runs only on that application’s environments, so a second application means a second copy of any shared cases.

One application (shared tests):

Project: Store
└── Application: Store
    ├── Environment: iOS Staging
    └── Environment: Android Staging

Separate applications (different tests):

Project: Store
├── Application: Store iOS
│   └── Environment: Staging
└── Application: Store Android
    └── Environment: Staging

Staging and production stay environments too. A store that tests both platforms in both stages uses four environments on the same application (iOS Staging, iOS Production, Android Staging, Android Production) when the tests are still the same.

Setting Up a Mobile App in QA.tech

Create a Mobile Application

In your project, go to Settings → Applications & Envs and create a new application. Select Mobile App as the application type. Follow iOS and Android on one application before creating a second application for the other platform.

Add an Environment

Add an environment to your mobile application. Select iOS or Android, then name the environment for the platform and the stage (for example, iOS Staging or Android Production).When the apps share tests, add the other platform as another environment on this same application.No URL is required for mobile apps.

Upload Your App Build

Upload your app build file:

iOS: .zip or .tar.gz containing your .app simulator build (max 4 GB)
Android: .apk file (max 4 GB)

Add Other Apps (Optional)

Use Other Apps when the primary app needs companion, authentication, or helper apps installed on the same device. Upload up to three additional builds. They must use the same platform and have different bundle IDs or package names.

Create and Run Tests

Create tests for your mobile application. The AI agent will interact with your app using touch gestures and device controls.

CI and PR testing

A pull request does not give QA.tech a preview URL for a native app. CI must upload the PR simulator or emulator binary and pin the run to that file with applicationBuildShortId. See PR Testing for Mobile Apps for GitHub Actions, GitLab, and Bitrise workflows (test plans and change reviews). If you build with fastlane, see fastlane regression testing for a lane that uploads each new build and runs a test plan on it.

Other Apps

A mobile environment can install one primary build and up to three other apps on the same simulator or emulator. Each environment pins exact build versions, so staging and production environments can use different versions of the same helper app. Use other apps for packages that participate in the same device session but do not need their own QA.tech test suite. Create a separate Application when the app has independent tests or should run in a separate environment.

Other apps currently require the Appetize mobile backend. All builds in an environment must target the same platform and use distinct bundle IDs or package names.

AI Agent Capabilities

The agent interacts with your app using the following actions:

Touch Interactions

Action	Description
Tap	Tap at a specific point on the screen
Double tap	Double-tap at a specific point
Long press	Press and hold at a point for a configurable duration
Swipe	Swipe from one point to another
Type	Tap a field and type text
Clear and type	Clear an existing field value, then type

Device Controls

Action	Platforms	Description
Home button	iOS, Android	Press the device home button
Back button	Android only	Press the Android back button
App switcher	iOS, Android	Open the app switcher
Launch app	iOS, Android	Launch an app by bundle ID or package name
Close app	iOS, Android	Close the current app
Open URL	iOS, Android	Open a URL or deep link
Rotate	Android only	Switch between portrait and landscape
Volume up/down	iOS, Android	Press hardware volume keys

See Limitations for hardware and environment constraints.

Requirements

Mobile testing is enabled per organization. Contact support to enable mobile testing for your account.

Get Started

Organize and run

Agents

Test data

Use Cases

Network Access

QA.tech IP Addresses

How to Add the Whitelist

Test Environments

Limitations

Debugging and Observability

AI Chat and Test Dependencies

Coming Soon

Preparing Your App Build

Build with Xcode

Build with Xcode Command Line Tools

Compress the .app file

Build with Android Studio

Build with Gradle

Expo and React Native managed workflow

Convert AAB to APK

iOS and Android on one application

Setting Up a Mobile App in QA.tech

CI and PR testing

Other Apps

AI Agent Capabilities

Touch Interactions

Device Controls

Requirements

​Network Access

​QA.tech IP Addresses

​How to Add the Whitelist

​Test Environments

​Limitations

​Debugging and Observability

​AI Chat and Test Dependencies

​Coming Soon

​Preparing Your App Build

​Build with Xcode

​Build with Xcode Command Line Tools

​Compress the .app file

​Build with Android Studio

​Build with Gradle

​Expo and React Native managed workflow

​Convert AAB to APK

​iOS and Android on one application

​Setting Up a Mobile App in QA.tech

​CI and PR testing

​Other Apps

​AI Agent Capabilities

​Touch Interactions

​Device Controls

​Requirements

Network Access

QA.tech IP Addresses

How to Add the Whitelist

Test Environments

Limitations

Debugging and Observability

AI Chat and Test Dependencies

Coming Soon

Preparing Your App Build

Build with Xcode

Build with Xcode Command Line Tools

Compress the .app file

Build with Android Studio

Build with Gradle

Expo and React Native managed workflow

Convert AAB to APK

iOS and Android on one application

Setting Up a Mobile App in QA.tech

CI and PR testing

Other Apps

AI Agent Capabilities

Touch Interactions

Device Controls

Requirements