App Store Rejection Due To Being Unable To Get Data From Firebase

I have the same error, did you find a solution?

I have the same error. Did you find a solution ? Thanks. Best regards, Dan

To add some more context to this: We're using Firebase via SPM. We're currently using version 9. This is not the latest version, but we're still surprised to see this.

The reviewers are using iOS 16.3. This has been used in prod by many users who have not seen this issue.

The app previously went through a review on iOS 16.2, and we did not have any issues.

We're using Xcode 14.2.

(Continue) After some more investigation today, it appears the issue is with Firebase Cloud Storage rather than with Remote Config. The error being reported is "An unknown error occurred, please check the server response". Some people have suggested it's an issue with the access rules, but these are set as expected. Additionally, a more descriptive error is given when access is not allowed, so we are confident this is not the issue.

To add some more context to the original post about this issue to see if it lines up with’s experience:

We’re using Firebase version 9 with SPM. This version is slightly outdated (current version is v10.x) but this is still surprising behaviour. It appears fine everywhere else.

The App Store reviews are using iOS 16.3. We had a successful review with iOS 16.2, but this has always happened on 16.3. Many users in prod use iOS 16.3 without issue.

We have identified this is happening for Firebase Cloud Storage, rather than for Remote Config. The error reported is “An unknown error occurred, please check the server response”. Some people have suggested it’s caused by storage access rules, however the rules are as expected. Additionally, a specific error is thrown for when the user does not have access.

We are using Xcode 14.2.

We have emailed firebase support, but we're not expecting to hear about for a few more days. We are considering setting up a new cloud storage system in case this continues/ happens again.

I have the same error. Did you find a solution? Thanks. Best regards, Arvi

I have the same issue. Any solution found? Please help me out.

Update - Our version of the app was approved after they managed to get data from Firebase, but we could see from our analytics that this happened after the reviewer moved off WiFi to using data, making it feel more likely this is caused by something on Apple's WiFi. We have not seen the issue for a single user outside of the reviewers.

I reached out to Firebase, and they said they cannot recreate it so will not look into it.

My plan for upcoming reviews is to ask the reviewer to not use their WiFi. If the issue continues, I'm going to move away from Firebase as we cannot have a tool that is causing this much of an issue. Changing will be a fairly big job, but will save time in the long term.

I'll post any other updates here.

With mobile data still no images present

Even with mobile data, it still seems to have issues. Has anyone solved this problem?

I am getting the same issue. Rejected for App Completeness because app is loading (fetching data from Firebase which is ~200kb) takes forever. Firebase storage without even auth needed. Literally, anyone can access firebase storage data (Another security thing but not the point).

The point is that every testflight tester within/outside Australia (Even ones in the US) are getting the data just fine, whilst only the apple team gets a problem with their network.

It does not even crash, so no logs are being detected on our analytics. It's hard to reproduce as well if only Apple testers are getting this problem whilst the rest of the world are fine.

I am really stuck here as I have sent them videos showing that it works.

I’m having the same exact issue and it’s indeed Cloud Storage and most probably something in Apple’s network. I am in contact with Firebase support for the second time and asking them if they shouldn’t contact Apple about this, as this has huge impact. Will post if I find out something new.

I’m also having the same issue. Could this be an issue with a specific bucket location? We are using europe-west3

@ntorring that is an interesting thought, it might be that it's indeed only with specific bucket locations, as otherwise, the impact would be much bigger. I have europe-west1. A Firebase support representative told me that he let the engineering team at Firebase know and they might contact Apple about this. I think they are starting to realize this might be a big issue.

Mine is australia-southeast1 and it does not work for apple reviewers. So apple network does not connect to firebase storage outside US? Can anyone confirm using firebase servers within the US?

I had a similar problems and i figured it out that the reviewer might have turned off / doesnt have internet connection (as network indicator in the app bar was not shown on the screenshots) or has network configuration issues. The way how firebase sdk mitigates these network outages when using firestore database and storage can result in this “resources stalling” kind of user experience. At least thats how we could reproduce the problem. Anyhow its because the device its tested on doesn’t have proper network connection as opposed to the hundreds of testers who did not report any problems with our application.

I finally got my two apps approved, they both required an initial fetch from Firebase Storage. I don't know if Apple has resolved the issue, or they actually tested on a cellular connection, as i requested they do, if they encountered any issue. I also referred to this thread in the reviewer notes.

I have the same issue. Any solution found? Apple rejected my app many times because of this issue

Hi everyone, Firebaser here! We are aware that some Firebase Storage users have had their apps rejected by Apple and we are working with Apple to help resolve the issue.

Have the same issue and 3 rejection from reviewer, when we're pretty sure that app is working as expected. Some context: App fetching config from Firebase Storage, and we're using us-central at Firebase Settings. We were tested it on real devices, simulators, with WiFi off/on, and had no issues.

Is there any solution, or how can I describe to the reviewer team, that problem is at their side?

Just wanted to share my experience here. I had the same problem with my app being rejected 4 times.

On my final attempt, I asked the reviewer to review once more using cellular network referencing the replies on this thread regarding potential issues Firebase (Mine uses Auth, Storage and Realtime DB) may be facing with Apple's internal Wi-Fi. Reviewer replied and asked for a screen recording of the app working and showing the features of the app (Though they did cite that I wasn't able to provide access to the app rather than being a problem on their end)

I replied with the video and about half an hour later, app went into review again then shortly after it was accepted and approved. Huzzah! I suspect they are aware of the issue and are being more flexible with the matter for now. All I can say now is, don't give up, talk to the reviewer and you'll get there – Good luck everyone!

Hi I'm also still facing this issue. Anyone managed to find a solution?

I got it approved in the 3rd attempt. I requested them to use cellular data and provided link of this thread. It was approved in 30 minutes. The log showed a successful access at that time. So it is likely that the reviewer switched to another network.

I went back and forth with them for weeks but it looks like linking this forum did it finally. Have had a few submission go through since then.

I was in contact with Google support. They recently updated me that they resolved the issue with Apple reviewers. I had my app approved with no change to my existing code. Hope it helps someone!