Goal

Ship a new build (see Publish an update to your already-live app), and most users won’t rush to install it — plenty just keep going on the version they already have. This guide walks you through turning on Alert for new app updates, so anyone running an older build gets prompted to update once the newer version is live in the App Store or Google Play.

It’s a one-switch setting: turn it on, and the app takes care of the rest — noticing when someone’s installed version has fallen behind what’s published, and showing them a prompt to update.

Worth knowing what this setting doesn’t do: it only nudges users toward an update that’s already live in the store. It won’t create that update or push a new build to anyone — you still publish each new build through the normal flow (see Publish an update to your already-live app).

Prerequisites

• Admin access to your WordPress site, so you can open Mobile App Manager → App Settings.
• A published app. The prompt has nothing to compare against until you have a version live in at least one store. Most installations turn this on once the app is live.
• A habit of bumping your version on each release. The prompt is driven by the store-facing version moving forward when you publish a new build. If you never change the version number, there’s nothing newer for the app to detect.

How the prompt works (in plain terms)

It helps to know exactly what’s being compared here — that’s what tells you when the prompt will fire, and when it won’t.

• Every time the app connects to your site, it reports the version it’s currently running.
• Your site knows the version you most recently published to the store.
• When Alert for new app updates is on and the running version is behind the published one, the app shows the user a prompt to go update.

So the prompt lives and dies by your version number moving forward at publish time. Ship a new build with a higher version, and everyone still on an older build starts seeing the prompt. Anyone already on the newest version sees nothing at all.

The prompt’s wording, whether it can be dismissed, and how often it reappears are all baked into the app itself — none of that is a field on this page. Want to customize that behavior? That’s a development-level change, so reach out to support or your developer.

Steps

1. Open App Settings

Head to Mobile App Manager → App Settings in your WordPress admin — the same screen where you already configure your app’s general behavior, home screen, and styling.

2. Find “Alert for new app updates”

You’ll find it in the General Settings tab (alongside switches like Force Reload on Open and Track Page Views) — look for the toggle labeled Alert for new app updates.

It’s a simple on/off (yes/no) switch.

3. Turn it on

Set Alert for new app updates to on / yes.

That’s the entire configuration — no thresholds, version fields, or message fields to fill in. The version comparison happens automatically.

4. Save your app settings

Save the App Settings page. Like every other app setting, this one is served to your live app straight from your WordPress site — so the change reaches users without a new store submission. They’ll pick it up the next time their app checks in for its configuration.

After you turn it on

• Nothing changes until you publish a newer version. With the switch on, the prompt shows up only once someone’s installed version falls behind what you’ve published. If everyone’s already on the latest build, no one sees anything — and that’s exactly the quiet, correct state you want.
• The next release is when it pays off. Turn this on now, and the payoff comes with your next update: publish it, and everyone still on the old build gets prompted to grab the new one.
• It’s a nudge, not a wall. This setting prompts users — it won’t lock anyone out of the app for staying on an older version. If you ever ship a release that must be installed (say, a breaking backend change), that calls for a stronger “force update” requirement. Raise it with support; it’s beyond what this single toggle can do.

Troubleshooting

• I turned it on but no one is being prompted. That’s expected — unless there’s a version live that’s genuinely newer than what users are running, there’s nothing to prompt them about. Confirm you’ve actually published a build with a higher version number since they installed.
• The prompt isn’t appearing even though I published a newer version. Give it a little time — apps notice the version gap on their next connection to your site, not the instant you publish. Also double-check that the version number actually moved forward on the build you shipped (see Publish an update to your already-live app for where version/build numbers live).
• I want to change the prompt’s wording or make it mandatory. Neither is something you can set here — the prompt’s text and behavior are baked into the app itself. Contact support to talk through a custom or forced-update option.

Related

• Publish an update to your already-live app — how to actually ship the new build that this setting prompts users to install.
• Track your publish status after submitting — confirm your new version reached “live” before you expect prompts to appear.
• Configure your app’s home screen — other settings that live alongside this one in App Settings.