Transfer app failed because sharing a group container.

and above is wrong picture.

What do you mean by that?

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Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
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ah.. screenshot of reply error content

So App Store Connect Help is pretty clear about this:

Sandboxed Mac apps that share the Application Group Container Directory with other Mac apps cannot be transferred.

Does the app that’s currently on the store use an app group?

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Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
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I don't really understand why the check must be so strict to also check at the previous versions. It would seem like it would be sufficient for whatever purpose this is for that if the most recent version does not have app group entitlements the transfer would be allowed.

I saw the same thing that even with a new release that deletes the app grouping the transfer is not allowed.

Has there been any update on this? Have you figured out a way ?

Would really like this to be changed to let apps be transferred. I only ever used groups in the iOS version, but I used the same entitlements and provisioning for both.

We have an app that is published both on iOS and macOS (Catalyst).

The iOS app is sharing group containers between app extension and main app target, but it's not sandboxed.

The macOS Catalyst app is sandboxed but the group containers were removed a week ago with the latest AppStore submission.

We are facing the same issue and still seeing this error message "You can only transfer sandboxed apps that are not sharing a group container." when transferring the app.

Can anyone from Apple give a bit more details what can we do to fix that?

You can't even take down a macOS (Catalyst) app alone and then transfer an iOS app. I don't know how many years it will take before Apple can lift this restriction.

I too am hitting this problem, and it is very frustrating. Removing the support for app groups and shipping a new version should be sufficient.

I have the same problem. It seems like there is no solution. That's really bad.

I resolved it by removing the app group capability from the appid at developer.apple.com, transferring the app, and then grouping it back again.

@markyin can you follow up with if and how you were ever able to deal with this? We are in the same position, removed the group entitlement, released the new app without the entitlement to the App Store, and it still cannot be transferred with the same error.

I recently dug into this as part of a DTS case. The language in App Store Connect Help is not sufficiently clear here, and I filed a bug to improve that (r. 141353156). Specifically, App Store Connect Help > Transfer an app > App transfer criteria says:

Mac apps that have used the sandbox environment and share the Application Group Container Directory with other Mac apps can't be transferred.

It should say something like:

Mac apps that share or have ever shared an Application Group Container Directory with other Mac apps can't be transferred.

So, once your Mac app has shipped with the app group entitlement, you can’t transfer the app, even if you’ve removed the entitlement in your latest build.

I don't really understand why the check must be so strict

I’m not willing to explain all the gory details here, but I want to stress that app groups on macOS are very different from app groups on iOS. See App Groups: macOS vs iOS: Fight! for way more than you ever wanted to know about that topic.

We’re halfway through the process of fully supported iOS-style app groups on macOS. The main missing piece right now is for the Developer website to be able to create Mac provisioning profiles that include iOS-style app groups in their allowlist. Until that happens, I don’t see any wiggle room on this policy.

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Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
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@DTS Engineer thank you for the explanation

What about Catalyst apps? I suppose they should follow the iOS-style app groups, can you confirm?

While Mac Catalyst apps can use authorised iOS-style app groups — see point D in App Groups: macOS vs iOS: Fight! — my understanding is that they are Mac apps for the purposes of app transfer.

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Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
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@DTS Engineer It's great to read that the process is "halfway through". We've been following the topic since the beginning, as it would be really important for us to be able to transfer some of our apps (they used to share the Application Group Container, but not anymore). Do you see any chance that the changes will go live in the near future? Thanks a lot in advance for updating us about the current progress!

@devmaz wrote:

I've been reviewing a few of these posts in relation to iOS specifically.

This thread is about the macOS behaviour with app transfers. I suggest you start a new thread for your question. Put it in Accessibility & Inclusion > General App & System Services > Core OS topic area and tag it with Foundation and Files & Storage. That way I’ll be sure to see it go by.

ps It’s better to reply as a reply, rather than in the comments; see Quinn’s Top Ten DevForums Tips for this and other titbits.

kavvver wrote:

It's great to read that the process is "halfway through".

Actually, as of Feb 2025 it’s pretty much finished. I just updated App Groups: macOS vs iOS: Working Towards Harmony with a new title (-:

We've been following the topic since the beginning, as it would be really important for us to be able to transfer some of our apps (they used to share the Application Group Container, but not anymore). Do you see any chance that the changes will go live in the near future?

I can’t predict the future, alas. As always, if you want to see something change, I encourage you to file an enhancement request describing your requirements. Please post your bug number, just for the record.

However, there is a subtlety here. If you app has only ever used iOS-style app groups then I think you could reasonably argue that the app group criteria shouldn’t apply to your transfer [1]. OTOH, if your app has previously used macOS-style app groups then I think you’re on shakier ground.

But really that’s just my opinion, and the best way to register you feedback about this limitation is by filing an ER.

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Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
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[1] I’m not actually sure that this argument will work, because I’m not 100% why the app group prohibition applies in the first place, but it’s a reasonable argument to make.

@DTS Engineer thanks a lot for writing back! I've filed an enhancement request with Feedback ID: FB17264508 Fingers crossed for really seeing enhancements in the near future. In case if you have any updates on the issue, please post it here, we are checking back quite often.