Mobile App Care

Keeping a published app working: store compliance deadlines, SDK updates, crash fixes and the releases nobody else is handling.

An app that nobody is maintaining does not fail all at once. It drifts: a dependency stops resolving, an operating system release changes a behaviour, a store policy adds a requirement. Each of those has a deadline, and the cost of missing them is not being able to ship a fix when you need one.

Who it is for

Companies with a live app and no mobile developer on staff.
Founders whose original development agency has moved on.
Teams who receive store deadline emails and are unsure how urgent they are.
Businesses whose app works but has not been released in over a year.

Typical situations

The store sent a deadline email

Apple or Google announces a target SDK requirement or a policy change with a date attached. Miss it and the app stops accepting updates, or is removed from the store entirely.

The agency that built it has gone

The app works, but the people who wrote it are unavailable, and nobody has opened the project since. Often the signing certificates and store access are the first problem, before any code is touched.

The build no longer runs

Nothing changed in the code, but the toolchain moved on. Dependencies no longer resolve and the project will not compile on a current machine, so even a one-line fix is blocked.

Crashes are happening and nobody is watching

Users hit errors and leave reviews about them. There is no crash reporting configured, so the first notice of a problem is the rating dropping.

What we deliver

Store compliance tracked against published deadlines, with the work scheduled before them.
SDK, dependency and OS compatibility updates applied and tested.
A working, documented build and release process that does not depend on one person's laptop.
Crash reporting configured, with crashes triaged and fixed by severity.
Store listing and certificate management, kept in accounts you own.
A short written report each month covering what changed and what is coming.

Typical timeline

A fixed-price assessment usually takes one to two weeks once read-only access is granted. Implementation duration is set out in the assessment report and depends on scope and change windows.

Starts with a fixed-price assessment

Read-only access first, so nothing changes while we look. You get a written finding, a recommendation and a price before any work is agreed. If the finding is that you should do nothing yet, that is what it will say.

Book a fixed-price assessment

Common questions

We do not want new features. Can you just keep it running?

Yes. That is what this is. Most apps need no new functionality but do need regular maintenance to stay in the store and keep working on current devices. Keeping those two things separate is deliberate.

What happens if we miss a store deadline?

Updates stop being accepted, so bugs cannot be fixed. In more serious cases the app is removed from the store. Existing installations usually continue working for a time, which tends to delay the response until it is urgent.

Can you take over an app you did not build?

Usually. The first step is confirming the source code, signing certificates and store accounts are available, since a missing certificate is a bigger obstacle than unfamiliar code. The assessment checks exactly this.

Who owns the store accounts?

You do. Accounts, certificates and listings stay in your name, with access granted to us. If you stop working with us, nothing needs to be transferred back.

How quickly are crashes fixed?

Severity decides the order: a crash affecting many users on launch is dealt with before a rare one in a minor screen. Specific response times are agreed in writing rather than implied.

Nothing published on Mobile App Care yet. Advisories and articles tagged for this service will appear here as they are written.