Hello,
Looking for guidance on how to break through what appears to be a stalled review process. My app, Nava Aura, has been rejected three times under Guideline 2.5.4 for the audio background mode, each rejection citing inability to locate the audio feature. I would value advice from anyone who has worked through a similar pattern.
What the app does: Nava Aura is a markdown reader and editor that reads documents aloud using AVSpeechSynthesizer (on-device text-to-speech). The "audio" UIBackgroundMode is declared so user-initiated playback continues when the screen locks or the user switches apps, identical to the way Audible, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts behave. Playback never starts autonomously; it requires an explicit user tap.
What we have done across three builds:
- Visible circular headphones button on every document card in the library. One tap begins listening.
- First-launch onboarding that opens with two screens explaining read/listen and background continuity, and ends in a live listening session on a bundled welcome document, so audio begins playing before the reviewer even reaches the library.
- A Settings entry titled "How to use Nava Aura" that replays the same screens.
- Detailed step-by-step instructions and Audible/Spotify analogies in two separate Resolution Center replies.
- A 30-second screen recording of the lock-and-continue flow, captured on iPad, attached to the most recent reply.
- Detailed App Review Information notes documenting the background mode usage.
The three rejection messages have been substantively identical, citing the reviewer's inability to find or trigger persistent audio. The most recent says the audio "does not play in the background as intended," which is not reproducible on any device I or my testers have used (iPad mini, iPad Pro 13-inch M5, iPhone 17 Pro, all on iOS 26.3). TestFlight builds 1 through 3 all behave correctly: tap the headphones icon, lock the device, Lock Screen Now Playing shows speech continues.
Questions for the community:
- Has anyone successfully resolved a recurring 2.5.4 rejection like this? What finally worked?
- Has anyone successfully reached a human at App Review by phone? I have requested a call twice through Resolution Center with no response.
- Is the App Review Board appeal (via the developer.apple.com contact form) genuinely a separate review team, or does it route back to the same reviewer?
- Are there known patterns where reviewers "background" an app by force-quitting from the app switcher rather than locking, and if so, how have others communicated the distinction?
Any first-hand experience or pointers would be deeply appreciated. Happy to share more detail privately.
Thank you, Suyog | Nava Ventures
