How long are older Versions of Apps in the Appsource for Business Central SaaS avaiable?

Hermann Wessel 0 Reputation points
2026-02-27T07:50:35.8633333+00:00

Hello,

we are currently facing a few context Problems with the newest Versions of Appsource Apps, which lead us to test all Versions of the Appsource Apps we are using. So we make an Testupdate in our Sandbox.

This validation can take up to two months.
After this Validation we want to update our Production to the exact Versions the Sandbox is currently using.
This can be easily done by the Business Central API.
However I was not able to find any Source how long those "older" Versions of the Appsource App is avaiable.

I just want to verify that this is a good way or someone has even a better way to handle Context Problems with Appsource Apps.

Microsoft Partner Center | Other
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  1. AI answer

    2026-02-27T07:50:48.8066667+00:00

    Older versions of Marketplace apps for Business Central online remain available as long as both of the following are true:

    1. The Business Central release that the app version targets is still in service for customers.
    2. The app version is within the range of releases that the submission targets, based on the app.json minimum version.

    For each submission, Business Central computes a minimum release from the app.json file. That minimum release defines both:

    • The lowest Business Central version where that app version is available.
    • The set of releases against which that app version is validated (from that minimum release up to the current production release).

    Thirty days before a new major version of Business Central is released, all submissions are validated against that upcoming version. Apps must be compatible with that upcoming release so that customers are not blocked during environment upgrades. If an older app version is no longer compatible with the supported Business Central releases, it will not remain available for those releases.

    In practice, this means:

    • Using a sandbox on a specific Business Central version and pinning app versions there is valid only as long as that Business Central version itself is supported and the app version is registered as compatible with it.
    • When the environment is upgraded to a newer Business Central version, only app versions that passed validation for that newer version remain available for installation/update.

    For handling context or compatibility problems with AppSource apps:

    • Test apps thoroughly on the latest Business Central version that matches the target production version, using sandbox builds (for example via Docker and Get-BcArtifactUrl) before submitting or updating.
    • Be aware that when Microsoft introduces breaking changes in a future release, partners are notified and must provide a fixed app version that is validated and slotted so that customers are automatically moved to the fixed version during the environment upgrade. This mechanism prevents tenants from remaining on incompatible older app versions when the platform moves forward.

    Therefore, relying on a specific older app version as a long‑term strategy is risky. It is safer to:

    • Align sandbox and production on supported Business Central versions.
    • Validate and move to app versions that are compatible with the upcoming Business Central releases within the service window.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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