My alarm clock app was received an rejection from app review process:
2.16: Multitasking apps may only use background services for their intended purposes: VoIP, audio playback, location, task completion,
local notifications, etc.
2.16
We found that your app uses a background mode but does not include
functionality that requires that mode to run persistently. This
behavior is not in compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines.
We noticed your app declares support for audio in the
UIBackgroundModes key in your Info.plist, but did not include features
that require persistent audio.
As indicated in the iOS Application Programming Guide:
"This key is intended for use by applications that provide audible
content to the user while in the background, such as music-player or
streaming-audio applications."
Therefore, it would be appropriate to provide audible content to the
user while the app is in the background or remove the "audio" setting
from the UIBackgroundModes key.
For discrete code-level questions, you may wish to consult with Apple
Developer Technical Support. Please be sure to:
include the complete details of your rejection issues
prepare any symbolicated crash logs, screenshots, and steps to reproduce the issues for when the DTS engineer follows up.
For information on how to symbolicate and read a crash log, please see
Tech Note TN2151 Understanding and Analyzing iPhone OS Application
Crash Reports.
If you have difficulty reproducing this issue, please try testing the
workflow as described in
with Xcode's Archive feature".
I have sent an mail to notice I need background mode to play alarm when it is alerting and user press "home" button that makes app into background. And then I got an reply:
Hello,
Thank you for contacting us to provide additional information about
your app Kill Ants (alarm clock). I have added this information to
your app record.
In the future, you can add this information directly to your app
record by including this information in the Review Notes of your app
or by replying in the Resolution Center when your app is in the
Rejected state. When you provide information in either of these ways,
it is not necessary to also provide the information by email or
through the Contact Us form.
You can find more information about "Editing and Updating App
Information" in the iTunes Connect Developer Guide here:
When the Resolution Center or Review Notes are no longer in the
editable states referenced in the Guide, you can continue
communications through iTunes Connect Contact Us using the steps
below:
Go to
Select 'App Review'
Select 'Continuing Communications', then add your information or questions.
I hope this information is helpful.
Best Regards,
App Review Team
How do I handle this problem? I app actually needs the backgroundMode to play alarm music in background. Anyone has the same problem? How do you solve it?
Related
I've tried like 5 times with different combination of alert before the asking permission for writing on Health app (with the purpose: add workouts).
I also added an explicit phrase on app description and my info.plist has both NSHealthShareUsageDescription and NSHealthUpdateUsageDescription but they keep rejecting my app with this reason:
Guideline 2.5.1 - Performance - Software Requirements
Your app uses the HealthKit or CareKit APIs but does not indicate integration with the Health app in your app description and clearly identify the HealthKit and CareKit functionality in your app's user interface.
Next Steps
To resolve this issue, please clearly identify the HealthKit functionality in app's user interface to avoid confusion.
What can I do about it? In the last build I removed the HeathKit function so they maybe can approve with no other excuse but sooner or later I want to add this functionality...
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Apple started to reject our app because they can't access our app because of geo-restriction. We have also a video which shows our app's demonstration in the review process. And Apple Review Team can't access app in U.S.A. It's a gambling app and it must be geo-restricted according to the App Store Review Guidelines.
5.3.4 Apps that offer real money gaming (e.g. sports betting, poker, casino games, horse racing) or lotteries must have necessary licensing and permissions in the locations where the App is used, must be geo-restricted to those locations, and must be free on the App Store. Illegal gambling aids, including card counters, are not permitted on the App Store. Lottery apps must have consideration, chance, and a prize.
We show a pop up to user which says basically that they could not access to the app because of the geo-restricted.
Apple Review Team's Response:
5.3.4 Guideline 2.1 - Performance - App Completeness
We discovered one or more bugs in your app when reviewed on iPhone running iOS 13.5 on Wi-Fi.
Specifically, upon launch, your app displayed an error message. All apps submitted to the App Store must function correctly and provide access to all features and content at the time of review, regardless of network, device capability, location, etc.
Next Steps
To resolve this issue, please run your app on a device to identify any issues, then revise and resubmit your app for review.
If we misunderstood the intended behavior of your app, please reply to this message in Resolution Center to provide information on how these features were intended to work.
For new apps, uninstall all previous versions of your app from a device, then install and follow the steps to reproduce the issue. For updates, install the new version as an update to the previous version, then follow the steps to reproduce the issue.
How can we make the app geo-restrict and also provide access to all features?
Thank you.
Specifically, upon launch, your app displayed an error message.
Was your error message clear to the user, explaining what had happened and what they must do to resolve the issue? Did you explain this restriction in your App Store description (particularly if you're submitting to any store where the restriction would apply), and in your App Store submission? Even if the user cannot proceed, they should have a good experience. It shouldn't just be an alert saying "go away." A legitimate user might launch your product while traveling, and it should be clear that they need to wait until they get home.
If we misunderstood the intended behavior of your app, please reply to this message in Resolution Center to provide information on how these features were intended to work.
This is the key point. Contact them. You may need to give them a backdoor that unlocks it for the Apple site. You may need to give them a special login. They may work with you in other ways. But contact them.
When you say "keeps getting rejected," that suggest more to the story. Did you contact them and did they tell you other things? Did you just keep submitting?
even though your app is geo restricted,you need to implement code for testing purpose so that they can test all the functionality of the app.i suggest you create a user for testing that will bypass the geo restriction and specify the name and password at notes in app submission.
Over the past little while I’ve been working with a client who would like to leverage Apple’s new Suggested App feature on iOS 8. The client's goal was to display a suggest app lock screen notification any time a person passes by a specific geo-location. After spending some time trying to find a concrete answer to what level of control (if any) the client would have over Apple’s Suggest App feature, it was decided to send our questions directly to Apple.
Below is copy of the questions I sent to Apple.
Hello,
For our next app release, my team and I would like to leverage Apple's Suggest App feature provided in iOS 8.
We've taken a look through the iTunes Connect portal and we haven't been able to find a configuration panel anywhere which allows us to control when/where our app should appear as a suggested app.
Questions:
Is it possible for us to specify the conditions that out app will appear as a suggested app for users who haven't downloaded it yet?
Can we specify a geo-fence that will display our app as a suggested app on a user's lock screen?
If we have no control over Apple's Suggested App configuration, under what conditions will our iOS appear on a user's lock screen as a suggested app?
STEPS TO REPRODUCE
Turn on your phone
Enable suggested apps
Enable 3G
Lock your screen
Walk past a region.
Expected Result: A suggested app appears on the iPhone lock screen.
Here is the response I received directly from Apple Developer Support Team:
Hello,
Location relevant Apps are recommended on the lock screen and in the App Store based on a number of factors, including their popularity at the location, and there is no mechanism or process by which an App developer can add their App to the list of recommended Apps.
However, if your iOS App is directly related to the location or venue (such as a mall guide iOS App which is published by the mall owner or operator), and you believe your iOS App’s relevance warrants it being included the list of recommended Apps, then you are encouraged to submit an enhancement request via http://bugreport.apple.com/, and request that Apple consider whether your iOS App should be included in the list of recommended Apps for that location.
You should provide as much detail in the ’enhancement request' about the App and venue/location as possible, such as the App ID, App Name, URL to the App on the App Store, venue name, venue location (address & lat/lon), the relevance (if any) of your iOS App to the venue/location, and relationship (if any) between you as the developer and the owner/operator of the venue/location.
Submission of an enhancement request does not guarantee that a particular iOS App will be added to the list of recommended Apps for a venue or location, and the sole feedback from Apple on the request will come through the http://bugreport.apple.com/ bug report system.
Regards,
Apple Developer Technical Support
We found that your app uses a background mode but does not include
functionality that requires that mode to run persistently. This
behavior is not in compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines.
We noticed your app declares support for audio in the
UIBackgroundModes key in your Info.plist, but no audible content is
played when the application is in the background. While your intention
may have been to provide this functionality, at the time of review, we
were not able to play background audio for your app.
As indicated in the iOS Application Programming Guide:
"This key is intended for use by applications that provide audible
content to the user while in the background, such as music-player or
streaming-audio applications."
Therefore, it would be appropriate to provide audible content to the
user while the app is in the background or remove the "audio" setting
from the UIBackgroundModes key.
For discrete code-level questions, you may wish to consult with Apple
Developer Technical Support. Please be sure to:
include the complete details of your rejection issues
prepare any symbolicated crash logs, screenshots, and steps to reproduce the issues for when the DTS engineer follows up.
For information on how to symbolicate and read a crash log, please see
Tech Note TN2151 Understanding and Analyzing iPhone OS Application
Crash Reports.
If you have difficulty reproducing this issue, please try testing the
workflow as described in "Testing Workflow with Xcode's Archive feature".
So here are my problems/questions:
in the resolution center it told them that they have to start a video
first or else there obviously won't be audio playback in background
mode and also send them a screenshot that it actually works
are they actually to answer me? I've wrote the above about one hour
ago and still got no answer
will i have to resubmit the App and wait another 7 days or can they
still approve the App?
I had the exact same problem and rejection reason.
What I did was file an appeal, citing Technical Q&A 1668, "Playing media while in the background using AV Foundation" (Usually here, but not at the moment), where it explicitly says that the UIBackgroundModes audio key may be used to play video in the background, either over AirPlay, or on a local device by detaching the AVPlayerLayer from the AVPlayer.
About a week later, my appeal was approved and the app was submitted to the store. Not that I ever received an explicit answer from Apple about this. But, the approval was the important part, I guess.
// edit: I filed a radar with Apple asking for an explicit video backgrounding mode a few weeks back. Its on OpenRadar now, if you want to dupe it.
You will not have to resubmit the app, they will respond to you.
https://developer.apple.com/appstore/contact/appreviewboard/index.html
This link will get you to the form for the appeal process, though I assume you have already done this based on info in your post. If you feel like you need an expedited review there is a link for that as well. You just have to make your case, try to be very careful to address every point they make about why your app doesn't meet the guidelines.
I had the same problem and where I was using the UIBackgroundModes key to play videos in background via Airplay. while Technical Q&A 1668, it is clearly mentioned like this
Important: The UIBackgroundModes audio key will also allow apps to stream media content in the background using AirPlay (see also Special Considerations for Video Media).
I recently got a phone call from Apple saying they would reject our app since there's a problem with the metadata. I asked whether there's a problem with the app itself and she said she doesn't know because she's not part of the review team. She said it should be ok.
So I changed my metadata and resubmit the app, and the status now is in review. According to itunesconnect programmer guide, they will reuse the binary. Does that mean the binary is good? Is it possible that they will take a look at the app again and reject me for some reasons other than they specified in the resolution centre?
I know this is a question that probably only apple can answer, but this is our first app so i don't really know how it works. I asked apple but they didn't tell me anything.
You do not need to upload new binary. They will review it again and approve it (or reject for other reason). It took only few hours in my case. But you can't be sure the binary has already been checked. Maybe they only did the metadata so far and will check the binary after your metadata correction. Anyway, no need to upload anything now.
Usually reviewers stop their review process as soon as they find an issue. This means that the metadata rejection can be the first of a longer list (hopefully no!) or that they reviewed your whole app and found the only issue at metadata level only: in such case fixing your metadata should be enough.
Recently I saw one of my apps rejected due to a mistake in adding an In App Purchase (basically the app was referring to an IAP still not in iTunes). After fixing it (no binary change, just adding the "in app") they found an issue in the app this time and then the binary was submitted. It would have been quite easier for me to know of the two issues together and fix them once, instead the triple-trip delayed my final app submission by 10 extra days (consider 5 days between two consecutive reviews)
From my experience, it doesn't always mean the binary is good. They may have very well reached the point of checking metadata and found an issue without testing the binary itself. Expect the Unexpected with Apple.
This is due to metadata information, no need to upload new binary. They will review it again and approve it (or reject for other reason). In my case, I was using location in background mode but in my Application description did not include the required "battery use" disclaimer, I changed the meta data (Application description only) according to apple message. It took only few hours (hardly 4 hours) and application was live. I was socked :) because some people was saying, It will take upto 7 days(as apple normal process).
Following was reason for app reject in my case(Below was the mail, I received from Apple)
From Apple
* 2.16 - Multitasking Apps may only use background services for their
intended purposes: VoIP, audio playback, location, task completion,
local notifications, etc.
2.16 Details
Your app uses the Location Background mode but does not include the
required "battery use" disclaimer in your Application Description.
Next Steps
Please add the following disclaimer to your Application Description:
"Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically
decrease battery life."
Please see the app store screenshot for confirm.
In my experience, they reject the app as soon as they find a reason and they won't review it any further until next submission. So if the metadata is rejected it does not mean that they have approved the binary.