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To find out why an Android intent opened the wrong activity—or why a deep link opened a browser—capture the complete intent, compare it with the installed app’s merged manifest, and reproduce the same launch with ADB. For App Links, check domain verification and signing-certificate details; on Android 17, use the link-debug command to inspect resolution candidates and matching rules.

Why isn’t my Android intent opening the right activity?

An implicit activity intent launches an activity only when its action, data, and categories match an eligible intent filter. Android searches for a suitable activity by comparing these three aspects, as described in the official Intents and intent filters documentation.

Capture the complete intent

Record the intent at the point it is created and, separately, when the activity receives it. Include the action, data URI, MIME type, categories, extras, package or component restrictions, and flags. Looking only at a visible URL can miss a MIME type or other field that affects resolution. If the intent names an explicit component, normal implicit filter resolution is bypassed.

Compare it with the installed manifest

Inspect the merged manifest for the build actually installed on the device or emulator. For every relevant activity filter, compare the intent’s action, data, and categories with the declared values. For implicit activity launches, the filter needs CATEGORY_DEFAULT; browser-facing links also need CATEGORY_BROWSABLE. Check each filter independently if an activity declares more than one.

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URI matching can depend on the scheme, host, port, path, and MIME type. A filter that omits a host or path constraint may match more broadly than intended. Android’s filter documentation explains the matching rules and their implications.

Intent filters are not a security boundary: another app that knows a component’s name may start it explicitly. Android recommends starting services with explicit intents. Do not rely on a filter alone to protect a component; review the component’s exposure and authorization separately. See Android’s intent-filter guidance.

How do I test an Android intent with adb?

ADB lets you send a representative intent to an installed app on either a physical Android device or an emulator. Reproduce the actual action, MIME type, and data rather than testing only a simplified version.

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Test implicit resolution

Use the general activity-start form documented in Android’s ADB documentation, replacing the placeholders with the values from the failing case:

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adb shell am start -W -a <ACTION> -t <MIME_TYPE> -d <DATA>

For example, the documented deep-link pattern is:

adb shell am start -W -a android.intent.action.VIEW -d "https://your-domain.example/path"

The -W option waits for the launch to complete and reports launch status. Add an extra with -e <EXTRA_NAME> <EXTRA_VALUE> when the real intent includes one. Check which activity starts, then log or inspect the received action and URI in the app.

Compare with an explicit launch

To target a named component, add -n <PACKAGE>/<ACTIVITY>. If explicit startup works but the implicit command does not select the expected activity, investigate filter resolution. If both launch the activity but the screen is wrong, focus on the app’s intent-processing and navigation logic. An explicit launch is a diagnostic comparison; it does not prove that other apps or the system will resolve the implicit intent to that component.

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Use the same installed build for these comparisons. Either a device or emulator supports the ADB workflow; use a physical device when the problem appears specific to a device or its installation.

Why does my Android App Link open in the browser?

App Links combine manifest matching with website verification. A qualifying filter uses the VIEW action, both BROWSABLE and DEFAULT categories, and an HTTP or HTTPS scheme. Android checks each host at https://<host>/.well-known/assetlinks.json. The file must be valid JSON, served over HTTPS without redirects, and contain the SHA-256 fingerprint for the app’s signing certificate. If the app is distributed through Play App Signing, use the Play App Signing certificate fingerprint. See the official App Links verification guide.

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Check verification on Android 12 and later

Android’s documented manual verification sequence for Android 12 and later is:

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adb shell pm set-app-links --package <PACKAGE_NAME> 0 all
adb shell pm verify-app-links --re-verify <PACKAGE_NAME>
adb shell pm get-app-links <PACKAGE_NAME>

The device needs internet access. Verification may take a few minutes; check the result after waiting. A successful host is shown as verified. A status of none can mean verification is still pending. Consult Android’s verification instructions for the supported workflow.

Inspect redirects and scope

If a link still opens in a browser, check whether the tested URL redirects—for example, from HTTP to HTTPS or from an apex domain to a www subdomain. Verification is host-specific, and redirects can interfere with it. Also compare the URL with the manifest’s host and path scope, confirm the fingerprint’s value and case, and check whether the device has a user-selected default link handler. Android’s App Links troubleshooting guidance covers these checks.

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How can I see which app will handle this deep link?

On Android 17, the --debug-link option reports link-resolution details, including candidate packages and activities, matched manifest attributes, App Link verification state, and Dynamic App Link rules. Run:

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adb shell am start --debug-link -a android.intent.action.VIEW -d "https://your-domain.example/path"

This diagnostic is Android 17-specific; do not assume it is available on older releases. On Android versions without it, use the ADB launch and App Links verification commands above, then inspect the device’s app-link state with pm get-app-links where supported. See Android’s link-debugging documentation.

For Dynamic App Links, inspect the server-provided rules separately from the manifest’s static constraints. Rules are evaluated in order, and the first matching rule takes precedence, so an earlier rule can affect a later allow rule. Check exclusions as well as allows when the Android 17 output does not match expectations.

How to make the failure reproducible

Keep a compact record for each test so a resolution change can be compared across builds or Android versions:

  • Android version and whether the test used a device or emulator.
  • Installed app build and signing variant.
  • Exact intent values and ADB command.
  • Resolver output, App Links verification state, and any relevant Dynamic App Link rules.
  • The action and URI the app actually received.

Compare a known matching URI with a near-miss URI, and change categories or use an explicit component only when those variants reflect a real launch path you need to isolate. The Android 17 resolver diagnostic is documented at Android’s App Links debugging page; command availability and behavior should be checked against the device’s Android version.

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