You have 12 testers. You have waited 14 days. The Play Console still will not let you apply for production access.
Almost always it is one of these five, and none of them announce themselves.
1. Some testers never actually opted in
Joining your Google Group or being on your tester list is not the same as opting in. A tester has to open your opt-in link and accept, with the same Google account that is on the device they test with. People routinely accept with their personal account and install with their work profile, which counts as nobody.
Check the opt-in count in the Play Console rather than your own list of who promised to help.
2. The count dropped below 12 at some point
This is the big one. The 14 days have to be continuous, and the counter watches the number of opted-in testers every day. If someone uninstalled on day 9, you did not lose one day, you went back near the start, and nothing told you.
This is why the advice is always to recruit 15 to 20 rather than exactly 12. Not because Google asks for more, but because people leave.
3. Testers installed but the install did not register
Sideloading the APK does not count. The install has to come through the Play Store on the closed track. If someone grabbed the file from you directly, they are testing your app but they are invisible to Google.
4. You pushed a new release and reset your own clock
Uploading a new build to the closed track is fine. Changing the track setup, removing and re-adding testers, or moving between tracks is where people accidentally restart their own count.
5. The console is just behind
Google updates these counters on a delay, and it is not always the same delay. If everything above checks out and you are on day 14, give it another day or two before assuming something is broken.
How to not be in this situation again
Count the days yourself, from the day you actually had 12 opted-in testers, and watch for drops rather than waiting for the console to tell you. I put together a free tracker for exactly this, no account needed, and the link keeps your progress: https://devconnectplatform.com/tools/closed-test-tracker?ref=devto
The part no tool solves is keeping 12 real people interested for two weeks. What works there is reciprocity: you test someone else's app, they test yours. Everyone in that trade needs the same thing, so nobody has to be convinced. That is the whole idea behind the tester exchange at https://devconnectplatform.com/app-testing,?ref=devto which is free and has no ads.
