Cannot attach first In-App Purchase to app version after Guideline 2.1(b) rejection: "In-App Purchases and Subscriptions" section missing

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Created 3w

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Hi everyone,

Not sure if this is a known App Store Connect bug but hoping either someone here has a workaround, or an Apple engineer can help push this along.

Background: this is my first In-App Purchase submission for my app. My original binary was submitted without the IAP attached (my mistake, first time doing this), so the app was rejected under Guideline 2.1(b) for referencing a paid feature whose IAP wasn't submitted for review.

Since then:

The IAP (non-consumable, one-time purchase) is fully configured with a review screenshot and notes, and shows status "Ready for Review" after submitting via "Add for Review"
My app version is in a rejected state with an "Update Review" button available

The problem: I can't get these two linked together anywhere in the UI.

Clicking "Update Review" on the version page resubmits it, but never shows any option to attach the IAP
Clicking "Add for Review" from the IAP page opens a Draft Submission, but that draft says "Unable to Submit for Review: To submit your items for review, add an app version for the selected platform," with no version selector anywhere in that panel
Tried hard refresh, incognito, different browsers, starting a fresh draft submission. Same result every time.

Result: resubmitted the app, got the exact same 2.1(b) rejection again, confirming the IAP genuinely never made it into the review package despite showing as correctly configured on my end.

I've seen a few other threads describing what sounds like the exact same issue, where the "In-App Purchases and Subscriptions" section disappears from the version page after a first rejection, and the fix ended up requiring an Apple support agent to manually push the IAP status forward on the backend, without needing another binary. Has anyone found a way to trigger this from the developer side, or is direct support/engineering intervention really the only path?

Already have a case open with Apple Developer Support as well, happy to share the Case ID via DM if that helps someone from Apple locate it faster.

Thanks in advance for any pointers.

Answer 1

Tomato OP

3w

I've seen a few other threads describing what sounds like the exact same issue, where the "In-App Purchases and Subscriptions" section disappears from the version page after a first rejection, and the fix ended up requiring an Apple support agent to manually push the IAP status forward on the backend, without needing another binary.

They are all first-time new comers in IAPs, right? I see this type of questions several times a day. There are answers here and there. If you haven't seen them, that's probably because you don't look around for yourself and want a private replay. I don't assist new comers with this type of questions because there will be several new more questions of the same type tomorrow.

Answer 2

xqoyx OP

3w

Thanks for the reply.

To clarify, I did search before posting, several threads describing this exact "In-App Purchases and Subscriptions section missing after rejection" issue, going back a while.

That's actually part of why I posted, since in the threads I found, the resolution in each case was Apple support manually pushing the IAP status forward on their end, not something fixable from the developer side through the UI.

If there's a UI-based fix you know of that worked for you, I'd genuinely appreciate a pointer, that would save me the wait on my support ticket.

Answer 3

xqoyx OP

3w

Update: this is resolved for me, at least to the point of both items now being properly submitted.

https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/841767?answerId=901299022#901299022

https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/840984

Following the App Store Connect Engineer's steps posted above (cancel the existing stuck submission first, wait for status to flip to Developer Rejected), I got past the "add an app version" error.

Screenshot 2026-08-20 at 1.48.13 PM.png

What actually worked for me: instead of clicking "Add for Review" directly, I clicked the caret/dropdown arrow next to it and chose "Draft iOS Submission" from that menu. That opened the draft correctly, with the app version already selected and the In-App Purchase listed alongside it, and the "Submit for Review" button active.

Both my app version and the IAP now show status "Waiting for Review."

Posting this in case it helps anyone else who lands on this thread with the same symptom (Draft Submission stuck saying "add an app version for the selected platform," with no version selector available anywhere in the panel). The fix for me was cancelling the existing submission first, then using the caret dropdown next to Add for Review to select "Draft iOS Submission" specifically, rather than clicking Add for Review directly or creating a fresh draft.

Will update again once the actual review comes back. Thanks to everyone who chimed in.

Answer 4

GetResubmit OP

3w

One important detail: Apple changed the IAP submission workflow on July 15, so the missing “In-App Purchases and Subscriptions” section on the app version page may no longer indicate a stuck IAP.

Try opening Monetization → In-App Purchases, selecting the IAP, and clicking Add for Review. Add it to the existing draft submission that contains the rejected app version. Then check App Review → Draft Submissions and confirm that both the app version and the IAP are listed before submitting.

Apple’s current instructions describe this workflow here: https://developer.apple.com/help/app-store-connect/manage-submissions-to-app-review/submit-an-in-app-purchase/

If Add for Review is unavailable, the IAP cannot be added to the draft, or the app version cannot be selected, then your conclusion is likely correct: the submission state is stuck server-side. In that case, keep the support ticket open and send screenshots, the app version ID, IAP product ID, and draft submission ID, asking Apple to reset or unlock the submission state. I would not upload another binary solely for this issue.