Migrating customers from a rebranded APK
You have a rebranded player, a list of customers somewhere, and a reason to move. The move is mostly a communication job, not a technical one. Here is the order that keeps the customers.
By the iBoMate team · · 5 min read
What actually moves
Not the streams. Your servers and playlists stay exactly where they are; the new app points at them the same way the old one did. What moves is the customer list - who they are, what device they use, when they expire - and the app on each TV. The first is an export and an import. The second is one install per customer, and it is the part that costs you attention.
Step one: get your list out first
Before you touch anything, export the customer list from wherever it lives - the old panel, a spreadsheet, the chat threads. Names, contact details, device identifiers if you have them, and expiry dates. If the old provider makes this hard, do it now while you still have access; it only gets harder after you have told them you are leaving. If you cannot get expiry dates, write down what you know from your own payment records.
Step two: set up the new brand before you announce anything
Create the new app with the same name and a similar icon so customers recognise it. Add your servers, set prices and the in-app support contact, and install it on your own TV. Register your own device and watch it play for a day. The package id will be different from the old APK - two apps with different ids can sit side by side on a device, which is what makes the next step safe.
On iBoMate this is the signup wizard plus the panel: name, logo, theme, servers. The 30-day trial is the full product, so the whole test costs nothing.
Step three: move customers in batches, expiring soonest first
Start with the customers whose subscription ends this month. They need to hear from you anyway, and "renew and get the new app" is one message instead of two. Register each device in the new panel with the expiry date you already sold them - nobody should pay twice - and send the install link.
Because the old app keeps working, a customer who does not install today has lost nothing. Work through the list in batches by expiry date over a few weeks, and let the old app run until the last customer has moved. Do not switch the old server off to force the point; that is how you lose the slow ones.
What to tell customers
Keep it short and make it sound like an upgrade, because it is one: "We have a new version of YourBrand. Install it from this link, log in the same way, and remove the old one when you are happy. Your subscription is already on it." Add the support number. Expect a quarter of them to need a second nudge and a few to need a call.
Before you move: what carries over
- Your sources: yes, unchanged.
- Your customer list: yes, by export and import.
- Your brand name and look: yes, rebuilt from your settings.
- The old package id: no. The new app is a new install, not an update - which is also why the old one keeps working during the move.
- Expiry dates: yes, if you enter them; the new panel does not know what the old one sold.
Send us your current setup before you start and we will tell you exactly which of these applies to you.
Put your name on the screen.
The 30-day trial is the full product: every feature, a real branded app, free.