Even if you specify Device Language and Device Region (for example Japanese / Japan) in the test run settings, on Android 16 cloud devices only the app names (icon labels) shown on the home screen and the app list may remain in English. For example, the Settings app is displayed as "Settings" instead of the localized name.
This does not happen on every run. In our verification, it occurred once every few runs on Android 16, and did not occur on Android 14.
Symptom
- Only the app names on the home screen and the app list are displayed in English.
- The launcher's own texts such as the date and "All apps", the contents inside apps, and system permission dialogs are displayed in the specified language.
- As a result, a step that locates a UI element by an app name (for example, tapping the localized name of the Settings app) fails with a "UI element not found" error.
Cause
The Android home app (launcher) loads and caches the list of app names when it starts. MagicPod switches the device language and region at the beginning of a test run. If the launcher has already finished loading at that point, Android 16 does not rebuild the cached app names even after receiving the locale change notification, so the app names remain in the previous language.
Because it depends on the timing between the language switch and the launcher startup, the problem occurs intermittently. This is a known issue caused by the behavior on the Android 16 side, and we are investigating a permanent fix.
Workaround
Instead of tapping the app icon by its displayed app name, launch the app with the "Launch specified Android app" command by specifying its App package. A package name is not affected by the language settings, so it is not affected by this problem.
- Example: to open the Settings app, specify
com.android.settingsas the "App package" of the "Launch specified Android app" command.
For details about the command, see "Launch an app such as a browser using mobile app test scripts".