Can I create a new Xcode project and get it linked with an existing app on Apple Store Connect?

Hello,

I have an old app that was pulled from the App Store after my developer account expired (was a free app, wasn't going to pay 99$ a year to keep it up). I would like to revitalize it porting it mostly to swift.

This would be much easier if I could just create a new Xcode project.

However I do want people who previously owned the app to receive it as as a free update/download given they have already purchased it.

If I create a new project. Can I set it to the same bundle identifier and not encounter any problems uploading it to the App Store this way? Or is there some reason this is a bad idea?

It is fairly hard to test this given I am not currently a part of the paid developer program. And additionally I don't want to "test" publishing the app for review.

Does anyone know if this will work out ok? Has anyone done this themselves?

Replies

Your old app is associated in App Store Connect with both its bundle ID and team ID.

If you can renew your expired account, then you can certainly create a new Xcode project and configure it with the existing bundle ID, then upload that to App Store Connect as a new version.

Otherwise, you won't be able to re-use the bundle ID in a developer account with a different team ID.

I suggest you contact the Apple Developer Program Support Team, who can explain your options in more detail. You can contact them via http://developer.apple.com/contact.