Why the change is needed

The current Android application identifier was inherited from the first THS and its previous development team. Before publishing THS2 in app stores, we are replacing it with the project-owned app.ths2.android identifier based on ths2.app.

This is an internal change: the THS2 name, account, and core functionality stay the same. It gives future releases a clean foundation for distribution from the website, RuStore, and later other app stores.

Why this cannot be a normal update

Android identifies an application by its technical package ID. After that ID changes, the new THS2 installs alongside the old one, but Android does not automatically transfer the internal database, photos, offline maps, settings, or sign-in state.

We will therefore not silently replace the APK. Even though the current alpha audience is small, a clear migration that protects every tester's data is more important.

How the migration will work

First, existing THS2 installations will receive a final migration update, 0.2.0-alpha16. It keeps all current data, is labelled THS2 Migration, and guides the user to create a backup.

The new 0.3 line will then become available with the project-owned identifier. It installs alongside the migration version and offers to restore the backup on first launch.

  • Update the existing THS2 to migration release alpha16.
  • Open More → Backups → Create and save the archive on the phone or in the cloud.
  • Install THS2 0.3 without removing the migration version.
  • Restore the backup and verify trips, tracks, findings, photos, and offline maps.
  • Remove THS2 Migration only after the restored data has been checked.

Accounts and cloud data

Your THS2 account, website map library, and cloud backups remain in place. You will only need to sign in to the same account again in the new application.

There is nothing to uninstall or reinstall today. We will announce the alpha16 migration release separately with step-by-step instructions. Once that stage has been verified, we will open THS2 0.3 downloads and continue preparing the RuStore publication.