My first app (version 1.0, iOS) was submitted on 12 September 2026 at 01:01 UTC and has been sitting in "Waiting for Review" ever since. Eight days later it has still never moved to "In Review".
There are no messages from App Review in App Store Connect: no rejection, no request for information, nothing.
I have checked everything on my side and it all looks correct:
- Paid and Free Apps agreements: Active
- Banking and tax forms: Active
- EU DSA trader status: completed, shows as Active (this one had already blocked an earlier submission for four days without any email from Apple, so I know to look there)
- App Review Information complete, with notes explaining that the app ships with a built-in sample mailbox
- "Sign-in required" is unchecked, so no demo account is needed to review it
- Metadata, screenshots, age rating and export compliance all complete
- A valid build is attached
- I also deleted an empty submission draft that had been left behind by the App Store Connect API
One thing I am unsure about: while preparing the release I cancelled and resubmitted the version several times to swap the build, and the submission history now shows a number of entries marked "Removed". Does cancelling a submission and resubmitting send the app back to the end of the review queue?
I have opened a support case as well, but I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has seen a first submission sit this long, and whether it eventually cleared on its own.