Error running App: "Item Not Available" - ios

I have an iOS application that I developed that runs fine newer iPhones and iPads.
I get this error on a 1st generation iPad running iOS 5.1.1:
"The item you've requested is not currently available in the U.S. store."
The app is distributed by the B2B store and was installed using a coupon code.
5.1.1 is the latest version that will run on a 1st generation iPad.
I double checked the app's settings in itunes connect and it is marked as available in the U.S. store; in fact, that is the only store it is available in.
Other similar apps that I have developed will run fine on the iPad, BUT those apps are built for the public Appstore. This is why I am pursuing B2B as the problem.
A user reported this problem to me, and I was able to reproduce it easily, so it is not limited to one device.
I cannot find any documentation that this should not work.
How can I get the real reason this is failing?
Is there documentation on minimum version of iOS that supports B2B distribution?
What else should I check?

This problem "magically" went away.
Here is the story of it going away:
I reported it to Apple and after several days they responded that they could not reproduce the problem.
I picked up the iPad 1 and tried to reproduce the problem myself. I could not reproduce the problem.
I suspect it was something with Apple's servers as I did not change anything on the iPad 1 as all I was doing with it was testing this bug.
I know that I was not nuts for reporting this problem as one of the users of my app reported it as well.

I was reading about custom B2B app distribution recently & found some links. Please have a look at "Submission and Distribution" They mentioned that
When the app is approved for sale, your customers purchase redemption codes from the VPP portal. It will not be available in the App Store app or iTunes.
May be thats why user is not able to see it in US app store. The WWDC 2012 session video "Building and Distributing Custom B2B Apps for IOS" is worth watching if you are interested in distributing a B2B app. You need Apple ID for watching this video
Also have a look at this link . This link mentions the steps for B2B app distribution.

Related

How do I test the app with Apple Developer Program?

I am working with a team on a mobile application. Everyone would like to use and have this app on their phones. However when I tried to install this app on phones with Xcode I've reached the limit of 5 devices. I wanted to buy an Apple Developer Program account so that I can send this app to other with the help of TestFlight app. Can someone confirm if I understood the information that I found on Apple website correctly:
I can add testers to the app using the link which will be send to them
They will be able to download and test the app for 90 days
They don't have to have Apple Developer Account? (I am not sure about that)
Since the app will not be published but only uploaded for testing it will not have to go through review process
If someone has better idea how to install application on around 10 devices I will be happy to hear that. If someone has any experience with uploading Flutter app to iOS I will also be happy to hear if there are maybe some tricky parts during this process.
Your test users don't need to be part of your developer team, but they must have an Apple ID in order to download the TestFlight App from the App Store. The email you send the invitation to doesn't have to be their Apple ID.
If the users are not part of your developer program team then your app will need to go through TestFlight review before it is available to them.
The good news is that TestFlight review is not as thorough as release review since Apple understands the app is still under development. The bad news is that TestFlight review typically takes a few days for a new version vs the typical 12 hour review for an App Store release.
Once you have a version approved for testing, it is best if you can release new TestFlight builds within the same app version. New builds do not require a manual review and can be approved for testing automatically.
If you change the version then another manual review is required.
You understand correctly. Most of the tricky parts handled by XCode usually but if you encounter any issues don't hesitate to ask.

Can I submit IOS app created on non-IOS devices (like, using VMware or any other way) or without MacBook?

I need to know if I can submit IOS app which is not built within apple device.
I'm using IOS in VMware to create IOS app. But now I heard that, In IOS 14 they are not allowed those app which aren't built within apple device. They are not allowing apps which are built with VMware.
Anyone know about this? Please help me. I got stuck at this point.
Please make this clear for me and many more developers who got confusion.
Thank you in advanced.
VMware doesn't matter as long as you are distributing your app via Xcode. Keep in mind the only way to distribute iOS application is to sign your application with Apple developer certificates with xcode and upload it via application uploader also you must have Apple developer account to generate distribution certificates.
Yes, an iOS App submission can be done without owning a MacBook; it is possible to submit an iOS app using VMware to the App Store.
Your VM should run Mac OS, and an app should be done/built in Xcode.
What is important is that Xcode will be required in order to upload a build to App Store Connect. Then you may submit to the Apple Certification Team to review.
And ofc, To submit your app to the App Store, you need to enroll in Apple Developer Program ($99/year) that should be done prior to the steps described above.

"AppName" is no longer Available

I've faced an issues in installing my App on the iPad via the Xcode software without uploading it on the Apple Store. I've noticed that after a couple of days the App stops working and doesn't open and displays a message ("App Name" is no longer Available).
What can be the solution to this problem please? The application is personal as I wish not to upload it on the Apple store.
Regards,
Apps installed via xcode are only temporary, I dont know the official lifetime of the app but they aren't production apps.
If you want to keep an app private you need to purchase an enterprise licence and then you can release an app onto the app store privately and you just grant access to the people you want to have access.
See Apple Developer Enterprise for more information.
If you didn't have a paid Apple account membership (~ 99 $) and used the free provisioning by using XCode deploy directly into your Apple device, then:
The free provisioning profiles are only valid for one week.

App Store rejected app as pre-release software

Our app just got rejected by the app store with the following explanation:
Your application is labeled as pre-release software. Pre-release or trial software cannot be accepted into the production environment and is not in compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines.
If you are interested in trial testing your app and making it available only to certain users, Ad Hoc distribution is available to broaden your user base. Information on Ad Hoc distribution is available in the iOS Developer Program User Guide.
It might be a silly question, but I cannot figure out how our app is "labeled as pre-release". Is it some flag that is set in our project or target? Or is it something which is set in iTunes Connect?
UPDATE:
We have gotten an reply from Apple and it was as I thought an misunderstanding of our business model which they have accepted now.
I have accepted Hubert's answer as it was the one which was closest to the issue, although Codo's comment (which I gave an upvote) came first.
Did you read App Store Review Guidelines? (Link: https://developer.apple.com/appstore/guidelines.html)
Here are some items from this document:
2.9 Apps that are "beta", "demo", "trial", or "test" versions will be rejected.
2.13 Apps that are primarily marketing materials or advertisements will be rejected.
3.2 Apps with placeholder text will be rejected.
This problem occurred to me once, because I made my build through the Beta version of XCODE. So just make sure you are not Beta versions of iOS SDK. Hope it helps.

Distribuiting iOS app preview to non developer (e.g. musician, illustrator)

I would like to distribute an App preview to a musician that I am working with. He is not an employee of my company but offered me to do the game sountrack for free.
I have checked on the iOS Provisioning Portal and found the following dislcaimer:
"Important: Your iOS Developer Program membership can be terminated if you provide pre-release Apple Software to anyone other than employees, contractors, and members of your organization who are registered as Apple Developers and have a demonstrable need to know or use Apple Software in order to develop and test applications on your behalf. Unauthorized distribution of Apple Confidential Information (including pre-release Apple Software) is prohibited and may subject you to both civil and criminal liability."
According to this I can only distribuite preview apps to test developer that I somehow employ. This excludes the case of friends working for free on non coding matters (e.g. musician).
Does anyone of you had a similar concern?
Thank you very much!
EDIT2:
I posted again this question on new post with additional details as Apple replied to me on this matter and did provide a different answer than the ones below. I have tried to add comments to those answers but this question doesn't seem to have any more visibility and need to solve this quickly, so thought that that was the way to go.. let me know if this is not correct. Thanks!
That's for pre-release Apple Software such as the beta a new version of iOS. You can send your own app to your friend so that he can test it, but you can't give him access to pre-release Apple Software and other confidential information.
Here is a guide that shows how you can send the app to beta testers, and here is a web application that makes the process easier.
Also Apple's Tools Workflow Guide says:
it’s always a good idea to perform wider testing with a representative sample of your app’s potential users. Such testing may reveal issues that surface only with particular usage patterns. An app tester is a potential user of your app who is not part of your development team but is willing to test it before it’s released through the App Store.) Adding app testers to your group of testers exposes your app to a variety of usage styles. You can collect and analyze crash reports (also known as crash logs) from these testers to resolve execution problems.
Nope, I think you misunderstood. You can distribute your own app as an Ad-Hoc to your friends whoever is a developer or not. However, there's a 100 devices limitation. And Apple is encourage you to do so before submit your app to App Store.
You cannot test your app the same way the users of your app will use it. They have different data and different usage patterns. Before publishing your app on the App Store, put it through real-world testing to find and solve as many problems as possible.
You can refer to THIS DOC to find out how to publish your App for user testing.

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