AppId disappeared, Apple says just use new bundle id

Recently I went to create a new Distribution Provisioning Profile for our Mac app. I got the error "No AppIds are available - You need an App ID to configure a Provisioning Profile.". Hmmm, that's odd. This app has been in distribution for more than 5 years. But, it turns out, the only AppId we have is the wildcard.


So I go to re-create a new AppId with our explicit bundle id. But it won't let me: "An App ID with Identifier '...' is not available. Please enter a different string".


Well that's wierd. Sounds like it's in Apple's database, but I just can't see it.


So I contact developer support. After a few rounds with support 'bots that simply point me to the documentation for how to create an AppId etc., I finally get a response from a real human. Bottom line - our AppId is "registered to a different user", and I can't use it. The Apple support person suggests simply using a different bundle id.


Ironically, among the links in the response email is one that highlights precisely WHY changing the bundle id of an existing app is a bad idea: https://forums.developer.apple.com/thread/14005


But how could our AppId be "registered to a different user"? An AppId consists of a team id and a bundle id. The team id is associated with our corporate developer account, so nobody outside our organization could possibly have an AppId with our team identifier.


As it turns out, one of our long-time employees recently left the company. I suspect he was the person who originally registered the AppId way back. But when he left, we removed his AppleId from our corporate developer account. And somehow that seems to be preventing us from creating new provisioning profiles against that AppId.


This seems absolutely bizarre to me. Is the AppId really associated with an individual rather than an organization? We can't be the first developer organization to have had an employee leave the company?!? How do other companies manage this? It seems to me that we should have a single, common AppleId on our developer account that is tied to the business rather than an individual (with the password on a post-it note somewhere) and only use that account for creating codesigning artifacts.


Changing the bundle id for our app is out of the question because it would negatively impact our users (e.g. losing access to Keychain entries, for one thing).


Like I said, I can't believe we're the first organization to run into this. Any suggestions for how to resolve this (other than changing the app's bundle id)? I suppose I could try to contact the former employee, re-add them to our developer account, and ask them to kindly create a new provisioning profile for us ....


Or just tell our users that we're dropping support for the Mac and they should switch to a different platform.

Replies

Is the AppId really associated with an individual rather than an organization?

No, it’s a property of the team.

Coming back to the bigger picture, I just want to confirm one thing. Reading through your email it sounds like you have an existing app with this App ID that’s published by your team on the Mac App Store. Is that correct?

Share and Enjoy

Quinn “The Eskimo!”
Apple Developer Relations, Developer Technical Support, Core OS/Hardware

let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@apple.com"

We have an existing app with the AppId that we distribute through our website, but it has not been published in the Mac App Store. I've been working toward that (i.e. sandboxing) and now also getting the app notarized. But I just discovered that I can't generate a new provisioning profile with the explicit bundle id, and I don't think a wildcard bundle id will be accepted for notarization.

Most Developer ID apps, and hence notarised apps, don’t need a provisioning profile. Are you doing something in your app that specifically requires a profile?

Share and Enjoy

Quinn “The Eskimo!”
Apple Developer Relations, Developer Technical Support, Core OS/Hardware

let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@apple.com"

Thanks, I didn't realize the provisioning profile wasn't necessary for developer distribution. When I inherited this app it had one configured so I just assumed it was required.

So with the AppId controlled by a user outside my organization, it sounds like we can notarize the app and continue to distribute it ourselves, but we'll never be able to put it in the Mac App Store unless we change the bundle id. Correct?


I still don't understand why an AppId that contains our team id is not accessible to our organization. You stated in your earlier response that "it's the property of the team", but in an email to me developer support stated (verbatim): "I received response from our internal teams in regards to your bundle id request. We confirmed the bundle id was used in a different account. We can't approve your request to remove the identifier so we will have to create a new identifier for your app."

I still don't understand why an AppId that contains our team id is not accessible to our organization.

I’m not able to discuss account issues here on DevForums. My recommendation is that you continue to follow-up with Developer Program Support about this. Feel free to ask them to contact me directly.

Share and Enjoy

Quinn “The Eskimo!”
Apple Developer Relations, Developer Technical Support, Core OS/Hardware

let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@apple.com"

Thanks. After quoting your response to Developer Program Support, they say:


Hello,

Thank you for reaching out.

The identifier you referenced in your email is already used in another account. You will need to use a new identifier.

Regards,

Garren

Apple Inc.

After pressing developer support further on this, the reply was:


"It [I assume they mean 'the AppId'] is used on another account associated with another app record and will never be available for use in any other account ever."


I asked them to clarify whether their use of the term 'account' referred to a team account or an individual user account, but they ignored the question and insist on continuing to use vague terms without clarification.


So the bottom line is that our AppId containing our team identifier has somehow beome associated with some other mysterious app (our team only has one app in AppStore Connect) and is no longer available to us. The only alternative is to select a new bundle id, which would negatively impact our users and therefore is unacceptable.



So if you're wondering why some apps are never made available via the Mac AppStore, it's because there's something seriously broken in either Apple's AppStore database or developer support organization.