Staging and Provisioning: Uninstall/Reinstall Application Best Practices

In some cases, applications may need to be uninstalled and reinstalled.  These cases may include app downgrade, changing the app signature, or simply uninstalling/reinstalling to clear the app data.

Downgrade an application version

Follow the below steps to downgrade the app version. Note: The application must change versions during this process; the same version cannot be uninstalled and reinstalled using this method. 

  1. Verify both app versions (higher version to be removed, target/lower version to be installed) have been uploaded to [Devices > Staging & Provisioning > Components > Applications]
  2. Create a Product. 
  3. If more than two versions of the app are installed across your fleet, use Assignment Rules to only assign the product to devices which have the higher app version, and therefore should be downgraded. 
  4. In the Manifest, add the following steps:
    • Uninstall App: Higher app version to be removed.
    • Install App: Target (lower) app version to be installed.

If the product is assigned to devices which already have the target (lower) application version, the Product will immediately show as Compliant. For devices which have the application version which needs to be removed, the Product will uninstall the old version and install the target version. 

Uninstall and reinstall the same application version

Perform the following steps to uninstall and reinstall the same version of an application. Note: You must know the package ID of the application. 

  1. Create a File/Action. In the Install Manifest add the following step:
    Uninstall Unmanaged Application - Specify the app package ID
  2. Create a Product (adding Assignment Rules is not necessary, however, they can be used if desired)
  3. In the Manifest, add the below steps:
    • Install Files/Actions: Select the File/Action created in Step 1
    • Install App: Select the app you would like to install

If you already have the application assigned to devices via existing Products, it is recommended to deactivate those Products as it might interfere or result in the application being sent multiple times to the device. 

Additional Information

It is strongly recommended not to create separate Products to uninstall and install the same application version. This may result in application unavailability in production for an indefinite period of time under heavy load conditions. Instead, follow the instructions above to create a product which contains both actions.

For devices which are newly enrolled, both of the above Products will skip the uninstall application step and install the new application version. 

If an application version assignment rule is used in the Product, the assigned device count may decrease once the device becomes compliant with the Product. The assignment rule will no longer be applicable once the version changes, resulting in the device being removed from the assignment. 


Support Contact Information



Best Regards,

The VMware Workspace ONE Team

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