The latest articles on DEV Community by 99tests (@99tests). https://dev.to/99tests https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4234984%2F690568c3-64fd-4e32-a474-500edca9eb8a.png https://dev.to/99tests en 99tests Mon, 09 Nov 2026 11:14:45 +0000 https://dev.to/99tests/a-pre-launch-mobile-app-testing-checklist-for-small-teams-1pd9 https://dev.to/99tests/a-pre-launch-mobile-app-testing-checklist-for-small-teams-1pd9 <p>Small teams usually ship mobile apps with a few hours of testing on one or two phones. That is enough to catch obvious crashes, and not enough to catch what real users hit in the first week. This is the checklist I would run before any launch.</p> <h2> 1. Decide which devices matter </h2> <p>Do not test on the phones you happen to own. Check your analytics, Play Console or TestFlight data and pick:</p> <ul> <li>The top three or four device models among your users</li> <li>The oldest OS version you officially support</li> <li>One low-memory phone</li> <li>One small screen and one large screen</li> </ul> <h2> 2. Test the paths that make money </h2> <p>Sign-up, login, payment and the one action your product exists for. If any of these fail, nothing else matters. Run each path start to finish on every device in your list.</p> <h2> 3. Break the network on purpose </h2> <p>Most apps are only tested on fast Wi-Fi. Try these:</p> <ul> <li>Switch to a slow mobile connection mid-action</li> <li>Turn data off while a request is in flight</li> <li>Come back online and check whether the app recovers or stays stuck</li> </ul> <h2> 4. Interrupt the app </h2> <p>Real users get calls, notifications and low-battery warnings. Take a call during checkout, switch apps for a minute, lock the screen and return. Crashes on resume are common and easy to miss.</p> <h2> 5. Change the settings users change </h2> <ul> <li>Large font size and display zoom</li> <li>Dark mode</li> <li>A different language or region</li> <li>Screen rotation</li> <li>Permissions denied instead of granted</li> </ul> <h2> 6. Write bugs so they can be reproduced </h2> <p>For every issue, note the device model, OS version, app version, exact steps, expected result, actual result and how often it happens. A short screen recording helps more than a long description. A bug nobody can reproduce rarely gets fixed.</p> <h2> 7. Know when to bring in outside testers </h2> <p>A small team cannot own twenty phones. Crowd-testing services put your app in front of testers on their own devices and return reproducible reports. We wrote a longer guide on <a href="https://blog.99tests.com/how-to-test-an-app-on-real-devices" rel="noopener noreferrer">how to test an app on real devices</a>, and <a href="https://99tests.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">99tests</a> runs this kind of testing for app teams.</p> <p>Whatever you use, test on devices your users actually own before you ship. It is cheaper than fixing a one-star review.</p> android mobile beginners testing