iOS Help w/ app rejection (edited) - Excessive volumes of data over cellular network

[huckleberry182]

Well, we received our first rejection...on our very first submission. There were a few reasons cited, but the one I am looking for guidance with is that they said we are using too much cellular bandwidth and pointed us to how to make our app Wi-Fi only (which of course we don't want to do).

Our app streams audio content, just like twenty other apps. The only thing different ours does is that it lets you jump around in the show by moving a slider. We also have a built in browser so you can surf the web while listening, but FlyCast does that and it doesn't seem to be a problem.

We are streaming Mp3's, most of which are encoded at 64k ( a couple slightly highter, but no higher than 87k) and we are streaming at 2.5-3M/5min.

Any ideas at all what the problem is or how to address this? We have no idea what the problem is or how to begin to fix it.

Heeeeeelp!!!

 

[Aea]

Stream at a lower bitrate and then raise it post approval.

or

Could the "jumping" be cause the entire file up to that point to load or is it true streaming?

 

[chbeer]

Our app streams audio content, just like twenty other apps. The only thing different ours does is that it lets you jump around in the show by moving a slider.

There are already 20 streaming apps. So why another? Apple simply tries to prevent us from thousands of copy-cat applications.

 

[caveman_uk]

Apple simply tries to prevent us from thousands of copy-cat applications.

Whilst it might be true that there are too many similar apps out there it's rather unfair if Apple isn't applying the rules consistently. Maybe this app is different to the others in the amount of data it's streaming but nowhere in the 'rules' does it say 'We will reject any apps that are similar to a bunch we've already approved'.

Ultimately the OP may just try resubmitting as maybe he'll get a different reviewer and a different outcome.

 

[firewood]

Whilst it might be true that there are too many similar apps out there it's rather unfair if Apple isn't applying the rules consistently.

It is unfair. But I don't see anything in the app store contract which says they have to be fair in this regard, or that what appears in the store somehow overrides what the SDK agreement allows them to reject.
YMMV.

 

[huckleberry182]

@chbeer

to answer your question...we are not "only" a streaming app. We are a fully conceived radio network designed to fill a specific niche, which will include original content only available on the network.

I was just trying to boil it down to software functionality for the purposes of this forum.

Thanks.

 

[jnic]

Aea's suggestion seems the most sensible, assuming it's fairly straightforward for you to do.

Easiest option, as caveman_uk says, is to resubmit and cross your fingers. There are a few stories on this forum of people making noops and resubmitting successfully, so definitely worth a shot.

 

[huckleberry182]

After looking more closely at the rejection letter (duh) we see that what apple dinged us on is not a bandwidth issue but "transferring excessive volumes of data over the cellular network".

We are streaming podcasts that are between 30 minutes and 2 hours, therefore ranging from 15 Mb to 70Mb. But other apps have the exact same or similar shows and show lengths and got approved. Pandora streams constantly I believe. We are downloading at about 2-3 Mb/5min, and matched up almost exactly with Pandoras bandwidth use in benchmarks.

Someone suggested that there is a 10MB cap on downloads over cellular network and we might be violating that. But then how do the others do it?

Any ideas?

 

[bbrosemer]

I am going to go ahead and assume Pandora gets away with it because they are a big name, your best bet I'd say is just resubmitting the app as is. Because they seem to be fairly quick these days with approval and see if you get any luck if not, I would say make a fuss because as we saw with the fart apps that only helps sales.

 

[bbrosemer]

After looking more closely at the rejection letter (duh) we see that what apple dinged us on is not a bandwidth issue but "transferring excessive volumes of data over the cellular network".

We are streaming podcasts that are between 30 minutes and 2 hours, therefore ranging from 15 Mb to 70Mb. But other apps have the exact same or similar shows and show lengths and got approved. Pandora streams constantly I believe. We are downloading at about 2-3 Mb/5min, and matched up almost exactly with Pandoras bandwidth use in benchmarks.

Someone suggested that there is a 10MB cap on downloads over cellular network and we might be violating that. But then how do the others do it?

Any ideas?

However to further go against your idea I think you have to be exceeding Pandora and Simplify as they both allowing music streaming over 3G.

 

[fishkorp]

OP,

Did you ever get this resolved/corrected? I recently got the exact same rejection, for an app that streams a SHOUTcast station (it's a private station, so the other apps probably can't find it in the directory). How is what I'm doing any different than the dozen radio apps that also work over 3G? I'd love to know if you got this taken care of and what you needed to do. Thanks.