TestFlight and IAP button questions

gyroscope

Hi, I'm running my test app in TestFlight. I've used @Armelline 's programming for IAP button and Restore.

When I press buy full app button, both this button and restore have the "Please Wait" image version, which is fine, but then they don't do anything else. Been five minutes like this so far.

So can TestFlight simulate IPA properly or not, can anyone tell me please? Or is this all that's expected or has something gone wrong?

Deviros

Has your in app purchase been approved by Apple yet? If not you need to use a sandbox user to do your purchasing until it is, otherwise the store doesn't have record of a valid iap - beta or not, and the request will just hang and hang....

When you make a sandbox user to test, you'll need to log out of your store account on you phone, and dont enter anything in. Then go to your app, and try to purchase. It'll ask you if you want to login - and that's when you'll enter your sandbox user.

If you try to login with the sandbox user in the settings and get prompted for a credit card, that user just got "promoted" to a real one and you'll need to start over.

gyroscope

Hi @Deviros Don't know if mi IAP has been approved or not - but it's there saved under the heading In-App Purchases in the 001 Prepare for Submission section in iTunesConnect...

I'd ideally like to test IAP with TestFlight if poss. rather than sandbox so any more info about where to find info about approval would be appreciated... (it's not submitted for review if that's relevant...)

Deviros

@gyroscope until you've submitted your first build of the app for approval to apple, iirc, they don't have a way to approve the iap.

You're not running the app in full sandbox - just iap. You can give that iap login to all your TestFlight users as well. It's a pain (so much so that I chose to just test my most recent iap by myself without any of my betas) but it does work at least, and it behaves in the full manner as it would on the live store...

gyroscope

OK, so I submit my app for approval and put a date well ahead for the store in case there's something wrong, that's right? Then if it's approved, IAP will work (if it works?) Excuse my slowness here - first time I've used TestFlight!

Talking about lack of knowledge of new matters (to me), I'll admit I don't know what sandboxing is...

Deviros

That is my understanding of the process, but if you do happen to find a better way, let me know! =D I wouldn't submit an "unfinished" app to the App Store for review though.

As to the sandboxing, in iTunes connect you will have the option to create sandbox users. I can't remember where it is and I'm on my phone right now, so unfortunately, I can't walk you to it.

But you just create the user and use the method above.

The good news is that iap shouldn't take too long to test - so you shouldn't have to be dealing with it for very long =D

gyroscope

Thank you for your help, @Deviros, appreciated.

Armelline

Sounds like there may be a problem in your logic. Do you definitely use the same IAP product ID in the Buy and the table and iTunes? That's the most common error.

gyroscope

Hi @Armelline, that seems OK, thanks for suggesting. It as typed in normally though, not via the expression editor, don't know if that would make a difference..

lotte205

@gyroscope I used Armelline's IAP logic and was able to test in TestFlight. It didn't hang and asked for my password. I was able to remove ads in TestFlight exactly as I would in AppStore.

Armelline

Feel free to ping it over to me at support@armelline.com and I'll be happy to take a quick look.

Deviros

@Armelline if you have an "unapproved" iap in a TestFlight prerelease, the store doesn't process the request properly and it hangs if you use a "live" iTunes account - this seems to match what @gyroscope is experiencing.

What Apple should do is recognize developer accounts that are on the provisioning team for the application's certificate and allow beta iap - even without approval.

@gyroscope always try to help =D you're welcome

gyroscope

@lotte205 said:
@gyroscope I used Armelline's IAP logic and was able to test in TestFlight. It didn't hang and asked for my password. I was able to remove ads in TestFlight exactly as I would in AppStore.

Strange, the plot thickens then... if you can't show IAP behaviour with an unapproved app I wonder why it worked for you?

gyroscope

@Armelline said:
Feel free to ping it over to me at support@armelline.com and I'll be happy to take a quick look.

Kind of you @Armelline , thank you! I'll email the game file over to you now.

lotte205

@gyroscope I don't know why or how it worked, but it did I had a fully finished app and absolutely everything worked in TestFlight. I used my real account to test IAP. If your code is right, then maybe something in iTunes Connect? IAP waiting for a screenshot (don't know if that's important)? Or you haven't added the right contracts to iTunes Connect..

From https://developer.apple.com/testflight/:
If a beta app has In-App Purchases, you do not have to purchase them, as In-App Purchases made with beta builds are free within the context of the beta version.

But I think it's a good idea to ask Armelline, he helped me too with the template.

gyroscope

Hi again @lotte205 as far as I know everything is fine in iTunes connect, and as I say, ben running the app fine in TestFlight (apart from IAP) - but good thinking though...

As for beta testing in TestFlight, I guessed IAP was free, thanks, just can't get it to run...

@Armelline was kind enough to offer to look at the file to check out the IAP programming, so I await with interest to see if he finds anything amiss.

Armelline

@Deviros said:
@Armelline if you have an "unapproved" iap in a TestFlight prerelease, the store doesn't process the request properly and it hangs if you use a "live" iTunes account - this seems to match what @gyroscope is experiencing.

I've tested at least a dozen games and not had to approve any IAPs for them to work properly via TestFlight. It's been over a month since I last did, though, so perhaps they changed how things work. A stupid change, if so!

The_Gamesalad_Guru

@gyroscope said:
Hi again @lotte205 as far as I know everything is fine in iTunes connect, and as I say, ben running the app fine in TestFlight (apart from IAP) - but good thinking though...

As for beta testing in TestFlight, I guessed IAP was free, thanks, just can't get it to run...

@Armelline was kind enough to offer to look at the file to check out the IAP programming, so I await with interest to see if he finds anything amiss.

Make sure all your contracts are up to date. I say this becuase you said you haven't used the account in a while. Go to banking and taxes and be sure you are up to date. This will stop your iap testing ability outside of sandbox mode.

gyroscope

@Lost_Oasis_Games Thanks, Dave. Everything seems to be in order there. Can't find my bank details in Agreements, Tax and Banking though, to double check... must be somewhere but i've forgotten where! Sure that's all OK anyway though.

Deviros

@Armelline Here's what i'm getting on a new game within it's In-App purchase area (at least here's what I'm getting now):

Everything that i can find about this, at least the way that Apple is doing it now - is that until you've submitted your final build for the first time, you don't have the ability to run IAP outside of sandbox - something to do with the binary signature not yet being valid - I'm not really sure.

It makes sense though - so many apps these days are released - for free - that are clearly designed for IAP but don't actually get the IAP until the first update is released.

The_Gamesalad_Guru

Yeah you may be able to test IAP using external testers without sandboxing as that does get a review first but maybe internal testers need to sandbox?

gyroscope

@Lost_Oasis_Games @Deviros I think what i'm going to do is submit the app for review with publication date set in two weeks time.

That way it'll give Apple a week for review and me a week for testing in TestFlight and resubmitting the app if something's not right. hopefully IAP will "play properly" then...

Armelline

@Deviros said:
@Armelline Here's what i'm getting on a new game within it's In-App purchase area (at least here's what I'm getting now):

This only applies when submitting to the app store, not when testing. You can test IAPs without submitting them first. I just tested it and it worked fine without submitting them.

@gyroscope TestFlight testing will hopefully fix the problem. You can't just add an Ad Hoc via Xcode anymore. There's a way to test with sandboxing but I've always used TestFlight. You need to upload it to Apple using an App Store (not Ad Hoc) provisioning profile to test IAP with TestFlight.

gyroscope

OK, thanks @Armelline that's what i've done, uploaded the .ipa file with proper PP via Application loader into iTunesConnect, installed TestFlight on my iPad and testing latest version of app, which gets as far as "Failed" in IAP. Returns to default button image. Every time I press it get "Failed" again before it goes back to default.

So don't know where I go from here now. "So close and yet so far" as they say...

Lovejoy

@gyroscope Don't forget about the App Store christmas break and the loads of submissions trying to get in before it.

gyroscope

Thank you, @Lovejoy , I hadn't thought too much about that. I best have it released in Jan then, I guess.

gyroscope

I realised I put the Product ID in via the expression editor in the In App Purchase - Buy Item behaviour.

So I've typed in directly into the field. Made all the caboodle, uploaded (for the 4th time) fingers crossed it'll all work properly now (the IAP button) in TestFlight this time...

gyroscope

As per above: success! I have successfully tested IAP in TestFlight. Thank you everyone for your info/help, especially @Armelline for his excellent IAP demo and advice via emails as well as here in the Forum.

Armelline

Excellent! Glad it worked!

The_Gamesalad_Guru

Ah, it's always something simple that gets you!

gyroscope

@Lost_Oasis_Games So true, Dave! (Just proved that again with another game file I'm working on... simple solution took me two days...)