Same issue here. Is there a solution now?
Same issue 50/50 chance I get this on a new app review.
I had this issue so I’ll chime in as maybe it will help others.
I went through 4 or 5 submissions before it got approved.
In my case they were having trouble getting through the paywall (I believe) or the subscription process wasn’t working. We weren’t able to replicate any issues and our subscription workflow is fairly standard. I’m not sure how they test their apps. I did a bunch of usability improvements to the paywall page (like a spinner while things are loading). The change I did that finally got us over the hump was just displaying the full error to the user on the paywall page if the subscription fails. (In our case with flutter this is catching the exception to the revenuecat calls and showing the full text to the user). Our thinking was that we would then have the screenshot they provide as part of the review to see what error they’re hitting.
However, after this change it was accepted. My guess is that they saw an error and realized what the issue was and changed something in their test environment to work around it. It could have been something as simple as not having online connectivity during the review, which I believe might have been the issue as I’ve seen others mention it.
It may have also just been luck and they happened to accept it.
Adding my 2 cents here.
- When checking the user’s entitlement I used ‘isActiveInCurrentEnvironment’ instead of ‘isActive’.
- When replying to the reviewer, I told them that I’m using RevenueCat and pointed to this article: https://www.revenuecat.com/v3.1/docs/app-store-rejections. Under the “Other tips” section they specifically saying that there’s nothing to do with such rejection.
I don’t know if what I did helped or was it just voodoo/luck, but the version got approved.
We have overcome rejections two times now by providing a new test account under the "Sign-In Information" section. To avoid problems, we now always create a new test account (with the same credentials) for App Review.
I also had this issue. After a number of rejections, the only thing that seemed to help was setting
usesStoreKit2IfAvailable: false
in the RC config (in Purchases.configure).
Of course, it could just be coincidence...
I just got the same rejection message - When validating receipts on your server, your server needs to be able to handle a production-signed app getting its receipts from Apple’s test environment. The recommended approach is for your production server to always validate receipts against the production App Store first. If validation fails with the error code "Sandbox receipt used in production," you should validate against the test environment instead.
I just got the same rejection message … is there a fix this is so frustrating? all my others apps never had this issue all using revenuecat
I am got the same reason for rejection. Here are some additional comments from the reviewer, that I don’t know how to resolve, seems like something RevenueCat need to add ( and document) on their end.
Any one has any recommendations?
We found that your in-app purchase products exhibited one or more bugs which create a poor user experience. Specifically, your app loaded onto a blank screen when we tapped “Subscribe”. Please review the details and resources below and complete the next steps.
Next Steps
When validating receipts on your server, your server needs to be able to handle a production-signed app getting its receipts from Apple’s test environment. The recommended approach is for your production server to always validate receipts against the production App Store first. If validation fails with the error code "Sandbox receipt used in production," you should validate against the test environment instead.
I would appreciate any recommendations to resolve this.
Same Issue.
What should I do?
--------------------------------------------------------
Bug Fix Submissions
The issues we've identified below are eligible to be resolved on your next update. If this submission includes bug fixes and you'd like to have it approved at this time, reply to this message and let us know. You do not need to resubmit your app for us to proceed.
Alternatively, if you'd like to resolve these issues now, please review the details, make the appropriate changes, and resubmit.
Guideline 2.1 - Performance - App Completeness
We found that your in-app purchase products exhibited one or more bugs which create a poor user experience. Specifically, your app displayed an error message when we tried to purchase the subscription plan. Please review the details and resources below and complete the next steps.
Review device details:
- Device type: iPad
- OS version: iOS 17.2
Next Steps
When validating receipts on your server, your server needs to be able to handle a production-signed app getting its receipts from Apple’s test environment. The recommended approach is for your production server to always validate receipts against the production App Store first. If validation fails with the error code "Sandbox receipt used in production," you should validate against the test environment instead.
Resources
- Learn how to set up and test in-app purchase products in the sandbox environment.
- For more information on receipt validation, see the In-App Purchase FAQ.
- If your app makes a SKReceiptRefreshRequest call and fails, do not retry the call. Assume the user does not have access. Continue by making the addPayment call.
- If your app makes a SKReceiptRefreshRequest call to restore previously purchased in-app purchases, make sure the app calls restoreCompletedTransactions when the user selects the "Restore" button.
Please see attached screenshot for details.
Just to add another report, I’ve also had one app rejected by Apple now on multiple occasions for this error: “RevenueCat.ErrorCode 8 - The receipt is not valid”
When I test with the Sandbox environment locally, everything works on both devices and simulators but Apple continually reject the app, even after pointing them to the RevenueCat document.
This is extremely frustrating.
Same Issue.
What should I do?
--------------------------------------------------------
Bug Fix Submissions
The issues we've identified below are eligible to be resolved on your next update. If this submission includes bug fixes and you'd like to have it approved at this time, reply to this message and let us know. You do not need to resubmit your app for us to proceed.
Alternatively, if you'd like to resolve these issues now, please review the details, make the appropriate changes, and resubmit.
Guideline 2.1 - Performance - App Completeness
We found that your in-app purchase products exhibited one or more bugs which create a poor user experience. Specifically, your app displayed an error message when we tried to purchase the subscription plan. Please review the details and resources below and complete the next steps.
Review device details:
- Device type: iPad
- OS version: iOS 17.2
Next Steps
When validating receipts on your server, your server needs to be able to handle a production-signed app getting its receipts from Apple’s test environment. The recommended approach is for your production server to always validate receipts against the production App Store first. If validation fails with the error code "Sandbox receipt used in production," you should validate against the test environment instead.
Resources
- Learn how to set up and test in-app purchase products in the sandbox environment.
- For more information on receipt validation, see the In-App Purchase FAQ.
- If your app makes a SKReceiptRefreshRequest call and fails, do not retry the call. Assume the user does not have access. Continue by making the addPayment call.
- If your app makes a SKReceiptRefreshRequest call to restore previously purchased in-app purchases, make sure the app calls restoreCompletedTransactions when the user selects the "Restore" button.
Please see attached screenshot for details.
First, create a new Sandbox account. Second, in "app review reject," you need to explain your shortcoming and give them a Sandbox account.
end, wait for Apple's response.
same issue here.
I got 10+ rejections and I tried all posted in this community.
1. asked to re signin to the reviewers.
2. uploaded the builds that working on my side.
3. recreated the subscriptions.
4. provided the sandbox account.
5. usesStoreKit2IfAvailable in Configure.
6. explained to the reviewers that RevenueCat automatically handles sandbox and production purchases.
But nothing helped me.
In the screenshot they attached, it says this error.
“There was a problem with the App Store. Problem communicating with the Store when trying to validate the receipt.”
I guess it is System Error from StoreKit.
What should I do for now?
I am almost dead and I am doubting if it is the right way to use the RevenueCat for the paywall.
I added the following text to the review notes and have not received any rejections in the last 10 updates:
---
Subscription / PayWall
- possible error: the receipt is missing:
This bug is known in Apple's sandbox test environment, but does not appear in production.
Nothing has changed in the source code for the IAP. Purchases have been working without problems since we released v3.0
We use RevenueCat.
In Test-Environments please first buy a subscription before restoring purchases.
In production environments this works fine.
We have no issues with our customers buying <app name>.
https://community.revenuecat.com/sdks-51/missing-receipt-leading-to-many-app-store-rejections-2321
---
Maybe this can help.
I added the following text to the review notes and have not received any rejections in the last 10 updates:
---
Subscription / PayWall
- possible error: the receipt is missing:
This bug is known in Apple's sandbox test environment, but does not appear in production.
Nothing has changed in the source code for the IAP. Purchases have been working without problems since we released v3.0
We use RevenueCat.
In Test-Environments please first buy a subscription before restoring purchases.
In production environments this works fine.
We have no issues with our customers buying <app name>.
https://community.revenuecat.com/sdks-51/missing-receipt-leading-to-many-app-store-rejections-2321
---
Maybe this can help.
Fixed it for me - Cheers!