IOS - Old version of app being installed from the app store - iphone

I released an update to my app 2 days ago. Since then I have heard from users that they are getting the old version of the app.
The really odd part is that the user is seeing the new app description and screenshots in the app store.
I have figured out how to reliably reproduce the issue. Is this something that I can fix myself? I've contacted Apple and searched the web but have found nothing so far.
To get the old version:
Go to appstore. Find SocialPar.
Click to install the app.
While it is downloading, go back the iPhone main screen (spingboard). You will see the app installing.
You now have the old version of the app
To get the new version:
Go to appstore. Find SocialPar.
Click to install the app.
Wait in the appstore for the install to complete,
Click open
It will prompt for passwords to itunes account
It will install again
Click open again
You now have the proper version of the app.
I am wasting a lot of money promoting my app right now and its killing me that my marketing efforts are driving people to install an old version of my app.
Can anyone reproduce this with their apps?

Apple is now allowing users to download older versions of your app.
You can prevent this by going to iTunes connect and visiting your app's "Rights and Pricing" section. At the bottom there's a "Manage iCloud download settings for this app" link where you can exclude older version from being available.

This is probably related to iCloud as I was having a very similar problem. If you have previously downloaded your app on any device then when you download it on a new device, it will download the same version as you previously downloaded. You then get the option to update to the latest version.
Confused me to start with!

Related

App Store not showing update button when new version is available

I have released the update of iOS app on iTunes. It is available on App store but neither it is showing in 'updates' tab nor it is updating automatically. Finally i uninstalled the old version and installed the new version from the app store.
This iOS app is developed in phonegap.
You should wait a few hours before a device finds the updated version of your approved application. The application update needs to be distributed to multiple servers dedicated to the App Store.
It is possible to manually check for updates on your device since iOS 11. Tap near the top of the screen near the ‘Updates’ text, then hold and pull down, then release.
Please note that you will not get the update automatically when you see a download button on your application page in the App Store. This means that the version on your device is signed with a different certificate than the released version in the App Store. Simply click on the download button to resolve this.
Hope this helps!
It's an open bug from apple side since last 5 years which is still yet to be fixed.
For reference kindly check their official site :
https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/52767?page=3

Can't test iPhone app update as an update

I have been working on an iOS app update and am ready to submit it, however I am having a small issue I am concerned about. I create an ad-Hoc version for testing and when I try to synch the update over to my phone via iTunes it won't give me the 'update' option next to the app. The buttons in iTunes says 'remove'. iTunes actually forces me to first remove the old version of the app and only after it is removed, iTunes gives me the option to install the new version and then the app works fine. The only problem is that this is not really testing the update process and I am concerned that once I release the app to the app store my users will have the same issue where they will not be able to just update the app, they will have to remove the old app first and then install the new version. Any idea what might be going wrong here?
iOS takes care of updating Apps, as far as bundle identifier in your info-plist is the same, any newer version will show as an update in iOS. But in iTunes things work differently. You don't have to worry about these things.
If you want to test effects of updating an App, Install the old version from AppStore. Connect your device and Run the project from Xcode. Now this will work the same way as updating your app.
There is no problem from your part. Maybe this time iTunes is not smart enough to know that your ad-hoc version is an update one or maybe the version of the app on iTunes and on your phone is the same. I've made a lot of update to my apps, when you submit a new one to AppStore your user won't face this problem. They will find an update button for your app :).

Anyone else having problems installing iPhone Enterprise apps on released IOS 5?

Anyone having problems deploying Enterprise apps on iPhone/iPads running the released version of iOS 5 using the OTA ("over the air") methodology?
During the installation process, we get the alert box: "the app could not be installed at this time". Tapping the Retry button does nothing. In some cases, repeated tapping of the Retry button eventually results in a gray, empty launch icon being left on the home screen. No app installed. No other errors.
Anyone else seeing this or have a resolution?
The below description is a bit involved, but please bear with me as it may help others who run into the situation. I will post the resolution if get a resolution from Apple. So far, no joy there.
Our app refuses to install OTA on iOS 5. This same app WILL install on iPhone/iPad devices running iOS 4.x.x AND the same app will install on iOS 5 devices physically connected to a desktop machine using the iTunes app.
The Apple Developer forums under the IOS 5 Beta category complained about the problem but no indication of resolution as of last week just before the official release of iOS 5.
Cookies are set to be accepted.
Bowser cache and history cleared.
Using mobile safari originally installed with original iOS version 4.x.x.
System hardware and operating system configuration
iPad 2, iPhone 4 or any iPhone device running iOS 5 RELEASED version.
Browser and version
Mobile safari that is installed with iOS 4 on ipad2. Don't know if mobile safari upgrades with ios 5 upgrade.
Using a corporate wifi network. Yes, we are behind a firewall and use a proxy server. Since iOS4 devices install without problems, I don't think installation being blocked by the proxy or firewall.
Enterprise app built with Xcode 4 and ios5 sdk provided with it. Built to be backward compatible with iOS 4.0.
Distribution provisioning profile is correct as we have been using it for several weeks.
This app installs properly on iOS 4 devices both over the air and via iTunes application method.
This app installs properly on ios5 devices through the physical connection with iTunes application on the Mac desktop.
Steps to reproduce:
User types in the URL in mobile safari on iPhone/iPad running ios5.
The resulting webpage shows the download app link.
User taps on the link and is asked if they want to install the app.
User taps the yes, install button.
App proceeds to install.
A gray launch icon shows up on the home screen with the progress bar empty at the bottom of the icon.
Message below the icon indicates "loading".
Seconds later, user gets the "cannot download app at this time" error message as seen in screen shot attached.
Tapping the retry button results in the same action just described.
Tapping done results in the download stopping.
If you tap retry several times, user sometimes is left with the gray empty launch icon, which will not launch and cannot be deleted.
Note: In the apple developer forums, under the iOS 5 beta category, people are describing the exact same problem with no resolution.
Had the same problem, and was able to resolve it. However, the error noted is not specific to a single cause that handles every case... some detailed investigation needs to occur.
Your best bet is to connect the device to your Mac, and using the Organizer of xCode view the console logs while you are attempting to do a wireless deployment. There will be some useful information available -- please post the logs.
For my case -- the icon files were missing from the build, as a result of moving from xCode3 to xCode4 and also, the distribution plist was referencing an image that returned a 404. Both were logged in the console, but not very clearly.
Also, as a sanity check, manually verify the URL to your IPA file also.
I had this same problem and was sure everything was correct in my project; but restarting Xcode and doing a clean revealed my Enterprise scheme had somehow defaulted to the wrong provisioning profile.
Re-selecting the correct profile and re-archiving the app fixed the issue for me, I'm able to install an enterprise app on both iOS4 and 5.
I wanted to chime in after fighting this for a few hours. It is iOS 5 specific.
We had an htaccess password protection on the directory. Removing this allowed the app to finally download. So if you have htaccess, perhaps you can point the user to a parent directory that is password protected, then navigate to the subdirectory containing the app that isn't password protected. This is a temporary solution, apple needs to fix this.
Another thing to consider is the URL you specified in your over-the-air Application.plist file. I received the same error message ("-application- could not be installed at this time") because the URL I specified was too unspecific. Rather than writing "directory/directory/application.ipa", I had written "directory/directory/". You must include your application in the complete URL of the plist file's configuration.
If you didn't do this, don't fret! You don't have to rebuild the entire thing from step one, you can open your .plist file in any standard text editor and simply change the URL.
We had the same thing.
Our mistake was to point to a wrong 512.png icon in the manifest.
Which was no problem on iOS4 but turned out to stop iOS5 into a "...at this time" alert.
Wanted to chime in on my experience.
In my case, we were changing the address where the IPA file was hosted. Although I updated the PLIST file with the proper URL to the IPA file, iOS was still going after the old URL almost as if it cached the PLIST data. Creating a copy of the PLIST file and renaming it resolved the issue (data within the file remained unchanged)
I met the same problem today. The app can be installed in ios4, but failed in ios5 with "** could not be installed at this time" alert.
According to patricksan's suggestion, I download iPhone Configuration Utility 3.5 for Mac OS X, and try to catch the log while install the app through OTA.
The log helped me finally, one sentence of the log says entitlement 'get-task-allow' has value not permitted by a provisioning profile. It remind me that if the code signing identity in build settings of Project and Targets are correct, after checking them in Xcode, I found the code signing identity are not correct one, they should be iPhone distribution:.... other than iPhone developer:..... After correcting them, and re-Archiving the ipa file, it can be installed in iOS 5 now.
Check your Info.plist for Required device capabilities property. I recommend to delete completely this property if you haven't any restrictions on use.

Can I install Xcode 4 from the App Store on multiple Macs?

Now that Xcode is part of the App Store (I'm not a paid developer yet) I have to pay $5 for it, which is fine. However, I am wondering if I have to pay $5 for every one of my Macs? Or what if I blow my current Mac and do a reinstall, do I have to pay for Xcode again?
I think this will answer your question! :)
Answer from link:
Yes. Just run the App Store app on the second Mac and go to the Purchases tab. You'll see a list of the apps you've already purchased, with an Install button next to each one - click the button to install on the second Mac.
The Mac App store allows you to redownload previously purchased apps. So you would just have to link your Apple account to the new machine and then you should be able to download it on that machine with no additional charge.
According to the terms and conditions:
http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/us/terms.html#APPS
"MAC APP STORE PRODUCT USAGE RULES
Except as otherwise set forth herein,
(i) You may download and use an application from the Mac App Store (“Mac App Store Product”) for personal, non-commercial use on any Apple-branded products running Mac OS X (“Mac Computer”) that you own or control. "
I just noticed, my other apps are available for download from my other computers. So my guess is that it will be the same for Xcode 4!
I will confirm once I try it
Yes, you can install the same app on another Mac; I just did it. And if you've already downloaded the Install Xcode.app, you can copy that already downloaded file into the applications of the other computer and the Mac App Store will see it is already installed.
Warning: Do not remove the Install Xcode.app or the store will no longer think you have it installed, even though it is.

Re-Installing IPhone App From Inside The App

I want to find a way if it's possible to re-install an IPhone app from inside it?
Let's say my users have the app already installed in their phones and now new version is released, can I make my app such that it will check over internet if new version is available and if it is, download it and ask the user to install it. If user says yes, it will first un-install the current version and will install downloaded version.
Is it possible anyhow?
Apple wont allow this.
For one reason, un-installing the app removes all the user documents (if applicable), so theres no way to preserve user data.
Apple already has a medium for updating (iTunes App Store).
If you want to be able to check if there is a newer version of your app, you can do that simply by checking a text file (for example) on your server, and notifying (by UIAlertView possibly) the user that there is a newer version of your app. But again, Apple already has a standard system in place. (Badges on the App Store icon)
probably not because to uninstall an app it requires the app to be closed
You don't have to do that. If you upload a new version to the app store, a notification badge will appear on the app store icon on your users' phones. You aren't allowed to install apps any other way than through the app store, anyway.
It depends on your app and what you want to update. It's not possible to reinstall the native app, but you can download data and update your app using that data. For example, we have an app in the store which is mainly a webview inside the native app. The first time it launches, it uses the internal data, but checks our server if there is an update. If there is an update, it downloads remote data and replaces the internal. It's what most magazines do for updating their libraries.