This part seems pretty clear:
You need to use a different version code ...
Therefore, I assume the confusion stems from why the AAB is out of compliance?
Have you unpacked the AAB to see what is inside? That seems worthwhile. If you unpack the AAB and locate version information inside of it, perhaps this will provide insight into what Qt chose to populate for you. (Here is a post on stackoverflow about unzipping an AAB).
So far, I have only uploaded to Google play using "fat APK" (APK file with multiple cross-platform binaries), so I certainly am not an expert.
I have this section in my pro file, following the advice from Qt online docs:
android {
DISTFILES += \
$$top_srcdir/src/lib/android/AndroidManifest.xml
ANDROID_PACKAGE_SOURCE_DIR = $$top_srcdir/src/lib/android
}
And every time I upload a new fat APK, I edit the manifest before building the new release. Edits like so:
diff --git a/src/lib/android/AndroidManifest.xml b/src/lib/android/AndroidManifest.xml
index c83c9cc..8b72b2e 100644
--- a/src/lib/android/AndroidManifest.xml
+++ b/src/lib/android/AndroidManifest.xml
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
<!-- versionCode must be an ever-increasing integer used by play store -->
<manifest package="org.anon.myapp"
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
- android:versionName="2020-Jun-23"
- android:versionCode="1"
+ android:versionName="2020-Jun-30"
+ android:versionCode="2"
android:installLocation="auto">
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />