Viewing and Changing Your App’s Status and Availability
When your app is available on the store, its status is “Ready for Sale,” as shown by a green status indicator . Any other status means that your app is not live on the store. You may have deliberately removed the app from sale, such as if you’re waiting to release the app to correspond to a marketing campaign. This chapter describes how to control when and in which store territories an app is available, and at what price.
If you haven’t deliberately removed the app from sale, you should review the app status to understand why the app isn’t on the store. This chapter describes the possible app statuses and how to resolve issues that prevent an app from being available on the store.
If you want to change the text or images used to display the app on the store, see “Viewing and Changing Your App’s Metadata” instead.
About App Statuses
Wherever app versions are listed in iTunes Connect, you’ll see the version’s status (such as Waiting For Upload or “Ready for Sale”) or a status indicator (such as ,
, or
). The status tells you immediately whether your app needs attention:
-
A red status indicator means that you need to perform some action before an app can be available on the store.
-
A yellow status indicator means that some process is ongoing, controlled either by you or by Apple.
-
A green status indicator means that the app is available in the store.
The version status text, described in Table 9-1, helps you understand what may be preventing your app from being available on the store. You can hold the pointer over the status text to see a more detailed description of the status.
The descriptions of app version statuses in the table include whether you can edit the iTunes Connect metadata when the app version is in that status.
Status | Status name | Description | Editable |
---|---|---|---|
| Prepare for Upload | You’ve created an iTunes Connect record for the app, but you aren’t ready to upload the binary. It’s likely that you’re still configuring metadata, screenshots, pricing, In-App Purchase, Game Center, the iAd App Network settings, and so on. To move the app to the next step, you complete configuration for the app and click “Ready to Upload Binary” on the app’s Version Details page. | X |
| Waiting For Upload | You’ve completed entering app metadata and indicated that you’re ready to submit the app binary. iTunes Connect hasn’t yet received the binary. Your app must be in Waiting For Upload for you to be able to deliver your binary. To move the app to the next step, use Xcode or Application Loader to upload the binary. | X |
| Upload Received | You’ve submitted a new app or updated version, it’s been received by Apple, but it hasn’t yet completed processing into the iTunes Connect system. If your app has been in the Upload Received status for more than 24 hours, contact iTunes Connect Support. See “Contact Us Through Menus, Options, FAQs, and Email.” | X |
| Waiting For Review | You’ve submitted a new app or updated version and it’s been received by Apple, but Apple hasn’t started reviewing the app. While your app is waiting for review, you can:
| X |
| In Review | Apple is reviewing your app. Because every app submitted is different, there’s no set review time. You can remove your binary from the review queue by rejecting the binary. See “Rejecting Your Binary.” |
|
| Pending Contract | Your app is reviewed and ready for sale but your contracts aren’t yet in effect. Check the progress of your contracts in the Contracts, Tax & Banking module. See “Viewing Contracts and Contract Status.” |
|
| Waiting For Export Compliance | Your app is reviewed and ready for sale, but your CCATS file is in review with Export Compliance. | X |
| Pending Developer Release | Your app version has been approved by Apple and is waiting on you to release it. Either you’ve chosen to control the release manually or the release date is in the future. Release the version to the store when you’re ready. See “Specifying When App Versions Are Released.” |
|
| Processing for App Store | Your binary is being processed and will be ready for sale within 24 hours. |
|
| Pending Apple Release | Apple is holding your app version until the corresponding Apple iOS or OS version is released to the public. If you think an app should be released on existing iOS or OS versions, review the deployment target set in your app binary. If you rebuild your app binary with a different deployment target, reject the binary for this version and submit the new version. |
|
| Ready for Sale | Apple has approved the app version and posted it to the store. Changes available in this status are:
|
|
| Rejected | Apple rejected the binary. iTunes Connect users with an Admin or Technical role are notified with what caused the rejection. | X |
| Metadata Rejected | Metadata items other than your binary haven’t passed review. See “Using the Resolution Center.” To resolve the issue, edit the metadata in iTunes Connect. When you’ve resolved the issue, the “Ready to Upload Binary” button appears on the Version Details page. | X |
| Removed From Sale | Your app has been removed from the store. If your app is at risk of being removed from the store, Apple will contact you to try to resolve the issues before removing your app. |
|
| Developer Rejected | You’ve rejected the binary from the review process, removing it from the review queue. When you’re ready, resubmit your binary or submit a new binary. See “Rejecting Your Binary.” | X |
| Developer Removed From Sale | You’ve removed the app from the store. See “To put your app back on sale.” |
|
| Invalid Binary | Apple received your binary, but it didn’t meet all the upload requirements. After you resolve any issues in the binary, on the app’s Version Details page, click “Ready to Upload Binary.” This action sets your app back to the Waiting For Upload state so that you can resend the binary. | X |
| Missing Screenshot | Available for iOS apps only. Your app is missing a required screenshot for the default language or for an added localization. At least one screenshot is required for both iPhone and iPod touch (3- and 4-inch Retina screens), and for iPad if you’re submitting a universal app. On the App Summary or Version Details page, click the number next to the status to view a list of the territories in which a screenshot is missing. | X |
iTunes Connect provides tools to help you track and manage the status of your app, including a history of status changes, an interactive Resolution Center page for resolving submission issues, and email notifications sent when app status changes occur.
Viewing Status History
The status history lists the state changes for a version of an app, the time the change occurred, and the originator of the change. Use this information to track your app through the review process.
![../Art/apps_status_history_2x.png](https://i-blog.csdnimg.cn/blog_migrate/480c551c2c27811313853e63a0fe4a83.png)
Using the Resolution Center
If your app doesn’t pass review and is rejected, you receive a communication from Apple regarding the reason for the rejection. This information is also available in the Resolution Center in iTunes Connect.
Click the Resolution Center link at the top of the App Summary page and the Version Details page.
![../Art/apps_resctr_message_2x.png](https://i-blog.csdnimg.cn/blog_migrate/671651d80d31f49c6bda53cac268c52f.png)
The Resolution Center displays information about an app rejection, including any specific App Review Guidelines that caused the app to be rejected. On the Resolution Center page you can ask questions or respond to the review information.
![../Art/apps_resctr_2x.png](https://i-blog.csdnimg.cn/blog_migrate/eae74063f24a190882f806e9d422f2fd.png)
You can correspond with Apple using the Resolution Center until you resubmit the binary for review. You can also send attachments, such as screenshots. If your app has been rejected because of a metadata issue, you can resolve the metadata issues and resubmit the same binary for review.
Receiving App Status Notifications
An iTunes Connect user account can be configured so that the user receives email notifications when an app version changes status. See “Viewing and Editing iTunes Connect Users.” When configuring notifications, select App Status for the appropriate store territories or for worldwide.
Users with an Admin role can configure their own accounts; users with a Technical role need to have a user with an Admin role make the change for them.
Changing an App’s Status
Most status changes happen automatically in response to changes you make in iTunes Connect or changes made by Apple. However, in the following cases you set the app status directly:
When you’re ready to upload your app binary. When you first create an iTunes Connect record for the app, the app status is Prepare For Upload. When you’ve entered all the required configuration and metadata, the Version Details page shows the “Ready to Upload Binary” button at the top of the page. Clicking this button moves the status of the app version to Waiting For Upload. See “Uploading Your Binary.”
After you’ve uploaded the binary but before Apple has reviewed it. If you find an issue in your binary that you want to fix while the status is Waiting For Review or In Review, you can remove your app from Apple’s review queue by rejecting the binary. You can resubmit the binary with the same version information. If you wait until after Apple has reviewed the binary before you reject it, you’ll need to create a new version in iTunes Connect to submit the updated binary. See “Rejecting Your Binary.”
Removing an app from being viewed on the App Store or Mac App Store. Whether for marketing reasons or because you find an issue with a version of an app that’s on the store, you can remove an app from the store. You can replace the app on the store without requiring the app to be reviewed again. See “Removing an App from Sale.”
Rejecting Your Binary
Rejecting a binary removes your app version from Apple’s review queue and changes its status to Developer Rejected. You can then move your app back to Waiting For Upload (See “Uploading Your Binary”). When you resubmit your binary, the review process starts over from the beginning.
You can reject the binary you’ve submitted if its status is any of the following:
-
Missing Screenshot (iOS only)
-
Waiting For Export Compliance
-
Waiting For Review
-
In Review
-
Pending Developer Release
-
Pending Apple Release
If your app’s status is not one of these, see “Deleting an App.”
Removing an App from Sale
Removing an app from the store removes all versions of the app from sale. Users with previous versions of the app can’t update the app.
Important: Your app’s availability date ultimately determines whether your app is live on the store. If the availability date is set to a date in the future, even if your app status is “Ready for Sale,” the app version won’t be live in the store.
To sell an app you previously removed from sale, you must put it back on sale in the territories you want it to be sold in.
The app status changes from Developer Removed From Sale to “Ready for Sale.” Your app reappears in the store within 24 hours.
Changing the Territories Rights Information
While the version has the “Ready for Sale” status, you can change where an app version is available. You can prepare for the app to be available in additional territories by configuring additional language support before you make the app available in the territories that use those languages.
After you change an app’s territory rights, it may take up to 24 hours to refresh your app’s availability in stores in all territories.
Changing an App’s Availability Date
You can change your app’s availability at any time, removing it from sale or replacing it in the store. If you move your app’s availability to a time in the future, your app is removed from the store until the new date. It may take up to 24 hours to refresh your app’s availability in stores in all territories.
Before an app is approved, you may want to set the app’s availability date to an arbitrary date in the future. When the app is approved by Apple, you can decide more precisely when you want the app to appear on the store.
Scheduling Price Tier Changes
If you have a Paid Applications contract in effect, iTunes Connect allows you to schedule price tier changes for your apps over time. Scheduling is useful for sales and other temporary pricing changes that have a definite beginning and end date, as well as permanent pricing changes that have no end. For example, you might offer a promotional price for a month and then return to the regular price.
Note: You can also set pricing changes to your In-App Purchases in the same way that you can set pricing for your apps. You set pricing changes while editing your In-App Purchases. For more information on editing In-App Purchases, see “Changing Product Pricing” in In-App Purchase Configuration Guide for iTunes Connect.
To schedule price tier changes, you must have already submitted the app, because the options for price scheduling appear only when you’re editing an already submitted app. For each price tier, you can set an effective date (the date when the new tier takes effect on the store) and an end date (the date when the tier is no longer in effect and returns to the previously set price tier).
Feel free to set up as many price tier changes as you want. For each price tier change, your app changes prices on the effective date you provided and no interval can begin more than a year in the future. You’ll find your price tier schedule displayed on the “Rights and Pricing” page for your app.
Here’s an example of a price tier schedule:
![../Art/apps_price_tier_schedule_2x.png](https://i-blog.csdnimg.cn/blog_migrate/7ba0a8f1daa38f27e47b345417e7bd33.png)
In the above example, the app was free at one time. Then at the beginning of the day on August 1, 2013, the price went up to tier 1. The price went up to tier 2 at the beginning of the day on October 1, 2013 and rose again to tier 3 at the beginning of the day on January 1, 2014. Unless further price tier changes are scheduled, the price remains at tier 3 indefinitely.
By default, the start date for pricing is Existing (meaning the price currently in effect) and the end date is None (meaning the price remains the same indefinitely). To change the pricing, you add intervals. The effective and end dates are as follows:
-
Existing. When your effective price tier date is shown as Existing, the tier is currently in effect.
-
None. When your end price tier date is shown as None, the price tier doesn’t end on a certain date but remains in effect until you make a change.
-
Now. When you set your price tier effective date to be Now, the date that your price change takes effect is today.