Guideline2.1illustrative
2.1 because the demo account needed SMS
Illustrative scenario — not a claimed client win.
§ 01Problem
Review stopped at login. The note said they were unable to sign in with the demo account.
§ 02Apple rejection message
Guideline 2.1 - App Completeness We were unable to sign in with the demo account provided in App Store Connect.
§ 03App background
A social app with phone-number login as the default. Review Notes listed a real phone number the team monitored during China business hours.
§ 04What we initially suspected
The team thought the reviewer had mistyped the password and planned to resubmit the same build.
§ 05Diagnosis
The account required an SMS code. The reviewer was not on that timezone and could not complete MFA. The binary was fine. The notes were not.
§ 06What was changed
- Created a reviewer account that skips SMS and lands in a seeded workspace
- Wrote three numbered steps in Review Notes
- Replied in Resolution Center without uploading a new binary
§ 07What was not changed
- The production login for real users
- Version number and archive
§ 08Reply to Apple
The previous account required SMS. Please use email login with the credentials below. No code is sent. After login you will see three sample threads already populated.
§ 09Result
Illustrative outcome: review resumed and approved on the same build.
§ 10Lessons learned
- 2.1 is often a path problem, not a product problem.
- If a human has to be awake for the reviewer to log in, the account is not a demo account.
- Do not increment the build number to send new credentials.