The golden rule: never uninstall
Updating 9 Kings latest build is an install-over, never an uninstall-and-reinstall. Installing the new XAPK over the existing app preserves saves, unlocks, and settings. Uninstalling first deletes local data, and while cloud saves can rescue you, there is no reason to need rescuing. Tattoo this on your strategy brain: new file, same app, install over.
Back up with cloud save first
Before any update, open the game, confirm you are signed in, and let the title screen complete a cloud sync. That sync is your seatbelt. If anything goes sideways during the update, your reigns and unlocks restore from the cloud on the fresh install. This takes thirty seconds and has saved uncountable kingdoms.
Installing the new build
Download the new build from the download page, open it in your XAPK installer, and install. Android recognizes the existing app and updates it in place. Confirm the new build on the title or settings screen afterward. If the installer offers to uninstall first, decline; that prompt appears when signatures mismatch, which means the file is wrong, not the method.
What changes between builds
balance patches move kings between tiers, fix run-ending edge cases, and tune the early game. After updating, start a fresh reign rather than judging the patch on an old save; balance changes are designed around new runs. The tier list is revisited when patches land, so check whether your main moved.
If the update misbehaves
Update installed but the game crashes? Clear cache, not data, and relaunch. Version looks unchanged? The installer may have installed alongside rather than over; check for duplicate icons. Saves missing? Sign back into the same account and let cloud sync complete before panicking. The install fixes cover the rest, and the current build is always the one to update to.
