I've got an app that works in ios3 (3.0 - 3.1.3), but they've deprecated some of the code in ios4. The problem is, if I update to the ios4 code (3.2 -) it will no longer work in the older phones.
If I release an update that is for ios4, what happens to people who have the ios3 version? Does it say "sorry you can't have it"? Does it let them overwrite it anyway and then hit them with a "upgrade to 4.0 now" box? I'm worried that they'll be offered the update, download it, overwrite the old one, and now it won't work on their old phone.*
Thanks for the help.
(*I know the upgrade to ios4 is free and all that, but I'm pretty sure my demographic is more likely to be the "I like my phone the way it is thank you very much" type, annoyed to be forced into a new operating system just for my little app.)
I think it's your job to handle os 3 and os 4 in the same app (if you want, it's no an obligation).
You can check the OS and then do things depending on it.
When you need to use a framework which only exists in OS 4, you can set a weak dependency (Target "Project Name" Info => General Tab).
By the way, you can specify your app is only for > iOS 4.0 and then user will have to update his OS before updating your app. But I never had this kind of problem. I think it's handled in the AppStore when user want to install or update an application.
Related
We have submitted an update version of our existing applications in the App Store recently. But we have received a issue from one of the users, saying that the app is not functioning properly after the update. So in order to replicate the same, what are the steps to reproduce, so that i can analyse the issue?
Any help will be appreciated.
To simulate this before pushing yoru updated version to the AppStore you can:
Download the old version of your app from the appstore
Run the updated version of your app from XCode on the same device.
What will happen behind the scenes is that your app will be updated in a way similar to the Appstore. Your app will be partially updated while your doucments folder will stay the same. (what usually causes problems)
This solution is better because it lets you check for problems before and update was pushed to the Appstore.
Yeah, I get this a lot. The solution is a bit annoying, but you need to keep a history of IPAs you've submitted so you can put the on your phone through iTunes (so not the simulator) and then, run your code on your device putting a breakpoint on your applicationDidFinishLaunching handler in your app delegate, and start tracing from there. You should be able to find the old app store version in your organiser from the last time you submitted, or, go through your SVN/GIT history and checkout the version tagged to your release version.
Many times in the past that has happened to me where I test a new revision and everything looks fine but when I submit an update and is approved, users start complaining about a crash or lost data.
This is way I approach the problem.
(This is most important step) You need to either have your old code or old binary installed on your actual apple device. (Physical iPhone / iPad)
Now go to iTunes and install your new update.
Attach your physical iPhone / iPad to you computer, Launch Xcode and start debugging it.
NOTE: There have been many times when things work perfectly in the Simulator but break on the actual device. Its always important to test your code on the real thing as that is what the users are going to be on.
All that is required is to have the version of the app that is in the app store on your device, then install the updated version to your device. You can debug it using Xcode when you install the new version.
today my app update it has been released in the store, when updated or downloaded for the first time the app immediately crash on start.
I've tested the app on simulator and on device (the same where I've installed the update from the store) and I never experienced this problem.
My update it has been submitted with Organizer after the archiving, in the Distribute section.
Apple do not perform these types of controls before to release an app?
Anyone experienced a similar problem? I have no idea what could be the cause..
Thank you, Stefano.
Here's the best way to test a production build without deploying to the store:
Set your build Scheme to "iOS Device"
Do an Archive build
Select your archive and click Distribute
Choose "Save for Enterprise or Ad-Hoc Deployment"
Pick your code signing cert
After saving the ipa file, use Apple's iPhone Configuration Utility(*) to install it on your device
You should always perform two tests:
installing on a blank device after uninstalling your app *and any profiles in Settings -> General -> Profiles"
installing over the top of the previous version of your app, to make sure any files/preferences/etc are properly converted to the new format
(*) the iPhone Configuration Utility is mostly used for enterprise app deployment, but it's also useful for developers and is available as a free download for mac and windows at support.apple.com. You can also use iTunes instead, but it's convoluted.
As for why your app is crashing? No idea... it could be anything. Standard debugging advice applies.
The issue is related to the Framework. I had this exact error. It wasn't a case of logic as it was crashing before the AppDelegate was even called and my usage of NSMetadataQuery was much later in the life cycle than that.
It turns out that weak linking the Foundation framework was required.
Problem was solved by changing (under the Project Info in Xcode) the dependency option of the Foundation.framework from required to optional. Check for any such frameworks.
Try deleting any old versions of the app you have on your device, and reinstall. Also try on a different device, maybe with a different apple id to your developer account.
This happened to our app also, and apparently, other apps too.
Apple is aware of the problem and is currently working on a solution.
see this article:
http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/05/apple-responds-to-app-crashing-issues-has-a-dedicated-team-working-on-a-fix/
If you are using core data & you have updated database in your latest version without versioning core data in that case app crashes on launch after update.
I have, after many months of work, finally got my app updated for iOS4.
The first release was complied for iOS3.2 and has been in the AppStore for a while, I was very impressed to see it continued to work and be downloadable for iOS4 users all this time, even though my version failed to compile for iOS4.
However, now I've got the new version (complied for iOS4.2) waiting for review - I'm unsure what will happen to the existing app! If it is used overwritten, what will people with old versions of iOS see? Am I closing the door to anyone without iOS4.2+?
Many thanks
Ben.
p.s. apologies if this has been covered - I did look and failed to find :-)
When you specify the minimum OS required in the bundle, that filters what users will be notified of the upgrade. So users of your app that have yet to upgrade the underlying OS will not get pushed the update.
You can actually specify the target OS Level to an earlier version. The app will be allowed to install on that and any newer version. Generally, Apple is very good about forward-compatibility.
As Peter said, you probably don't want to compile it to only run on 4.2. If you added features that use newer versions of iOS, you can actually do a check prior to calling the method (I've done this with gesture recognizers) to ensure that the running OS version is capable. If you don't validate the OS, the app will simply crash on users with too-old operating systems, which could cause Apple to reject it.
Also, 4.3 is almost out, so you might as well wait a week :)
If your app only supports 4.2+, then only users with a device with 4.2+ iOS will be able to install and use your app. The version currently on the store will be overwritten. In short, yes you are "closing the door" to anyone with a lower version iOS.
Dear Scholars.
I have created a simple application using the latest SDK (4.2.1), Which runs smoothly and error free on all devices with iOS 4.x.x.
Lately I am getting some comments from users with older iOS version complaining the application is crashing on start, on Apple's crash log I see nothing at all.
Pushing my investigation forward, the only suspect I have at the moment is the use of EventKit class, which if memory serves, where introduced only after iOS4.
I am using it very lightly in one of my classes, and it works perfectly on iOS4.2.1
#import <EventKit/EventKit.h>
//some time later
[self setADateInCal: [MyTimeArray objectAtIndex:0] :formatterDate];
Thus my Questions:
Can this be the issue that crashes my application on iOS < 4 ?
How can I prevent it without dropping the feature for people with iOS4
In general, How can I test this? I have the latest official iOS on my device and SDK, the simulator is limited to how back it can go in regrading to iOS version... any magical way to do so?
1.) Yes. If it wasn't in the API in <4.0 than anyone not running >4.0 will crash.
2.) Test to see if the class is available using NSClassFromString (Google for examples) and respondsToSelector in correspondence to see if the method you want is available to use in the OS version the client is running. You will also probably need to weak link the EventKit framework (again Google for how to do this).
3.) The only real way to test this is to keep a device at the OS you want to test. Personally, I have an old iPhone that I never update running 3.1.3 for things just like this. Alternatively, you can keep old installs of xcode+iOSSDK on different partitions or something and use their simulator. (for future updates i guess since you obviously haven't done this for <4.0). But no, there is no magical way to do this. sorry.
edit for clarity on Number 2: Basically you will check to see if the class/method you want is available on the OS version you are currently running, if it is you can use it, if not you will have to find a work around (omit completely or do it another way that is compliant with older versions).
Yes it could be causing the crash. Issues with missing libraries do not report anything in the apple crash log.
To prevent it from happening you need to do two things,
Weak link the event kit library in xcode.
Check for its existence in your code with something like
,
if(!NSClassFromString(#"EKEventKit")){
//do stuff with event kit
}
The only way to test on the actual iOS version is to get hold of a physical device running ios < 4.
I want to update my app to make use of the multitasking functionality and local notifications available in OS4. My question is, if I update my app and make it only available for OS4 and above does this mean that if someone is running OS3 on their phone they won't get the update? or they will get a warning that they need to update their OS? What I don't want to happen is for them to update their app to find it no longer works? If the final situation is what will happen, how do I write the code to find out what OS is being used?
Thanks
If they try to update on the device, then they won't even see an update that doesn't run under their OS version.
However if a previous customer updates their apps using iTunes on their Mac or PC, then iTunes may show them any new update. If they download that, iTunes will blow away its copy that is compatible with their current device/OS combination. The new copy shouldn't overwrite the working one on their device. But if the user ever needs to do a restore, or deletes the app and wants to reinstall it, they're probably out of luck unless they have really good backups and know how to use them.
If you update your app to be 4.0 only, and also mark your app as 4.0-only in the Store, then people will not even see your update.
You can have the best of both worlds by designing the app to use 4.0-specific features only on 4.0 devices. Weakly link 4.0-only frameworks, and in your code use [object respondsToSelector:#selector(thisOnlyWorksInOS4:)] to test for 4.0 features before using them (or, in the case of multitasking, use the multitaskingSupported property of UIDevice, since not all 4.0 devices support multitasking). Alternatively, UIDevice also provides a systemVersion property.
This blog post explains these techniques fairly well, including weak-linking frameworks: http://blog.federicomestrone.com/2010/07/18/base-sdk-deployment-target-weak-linking-and-import/