iOS App stuck in review for a month, App Review team jerking me around?

[trudderham]

I submitted my very first app to Apple July 2nd, and it went into review a week later. Since then, however, it’s been stuck “In Review”. It’s only a simple tips/guide app, with a few dozen screens that users can swipe through, so I can't imagine that the reviewer has been looking at it for 30 days.

I’ve phoned the app support line three times (they say they'll look into things but never get back to me), and emailed twice, and I always get a similar copy/paste reply:

Hello,
Thank you for contacting us about the status of your app. I understand that you would like to know when you can expect the results of your review. You will receive an email immediately when the review is complete.
We appreciate your patience as we complete the review of your app.

Best regards,
Monica
App Store Review

and:

Hello,
Thank you for the follow-up e-mail regarding the status of your app. I understand that your app has been In Review for just over 30 days and you would like a status update.
At this time there is no additional information to share as your app is still pending the completion of the review process. If we need additional information to complete the review, we will contact you immediately.
We appreciate your patience as we complete the review of your app.
Best regards,
Nysha
App Store Review

Am I being jerked around by the App review team? This is my first app and I couldn’t think of a worse experience!

 

[AlliFlowers]

That's not atypical. It's worse when you're trying to get out a fix, and it takes them two weeks.

 

[moonman239]

Huh. Appreviewtimes.com says "5 days".

 

[PhoneyDeveloper]

Six weeks is not typical. One to two weeks is typical. I would try the phone route rather than email. Maybe you'll get someone that will actually try to help you.

The only other thing is to self-reject the app and re-submit.

 

[VPrime]

We had that happen once. Ended up being rejected.

As PhoneyDeveloper has said, you can try pulling the release and trying again. You may get a different reviewer, and have it moved back into the queue.
Overall, the app submission process is a mystery, riddled with inconsistencies and a lot of human error.

 

[Punkjumper]

That is not typical. In the past few weeks I've had two uptates approved in 24 hours. Usually 5 days though

 

[recoil80]

Once I had to wait 10 days for a review. It was an app for the B2B app store and my customer was getting mad about the delay.
When is possibile I really recommend my customers to chose the enterprise distribution. Usually my apps are approved within a week though.

 

[appavenger]

A month is very very odd. I've released many apps, and updates and I think the longest I've ever waited for an initial review turn around is probably somewhere in the 10-14 day window.. usually its faster than that.. around a week. Never had one take a month just to get initially reviewed.