How to test my 1st In-App Purchase without releasing the App itself?

Question

Ok, I suspect the answer to this is simple. But here goes...

I am in the process of submitting my app. I am submitting for review even though my In-App purchase integration has not been tested. This is essentially because I am unable to retrieve my list of IAP items if the IAP items have not been submitted/verified. So it seems to me this is like a "chicken or the egg" kind of situation.

My plan is to submit the App and the 1st IAP item. Then I am assuming this will allow me to magically retrieve the IAP item when I run the App.

Am I approaching this correctly, or is there a more intuitive/simpler way to test the IAP retrieval process (and the many other things to test once it is retrieved)?

Answer 1

Per Apple's Documentation:

To perform testing for in-app purchase products Set up test user accounts within Users and Roles in iTunes Connect, as detailed in Creating Sandbox Tester Accounts in iTunes Connect Developer Guide.

You’ll need a test user for each territory you want to test the app in.

Clear any account information stored on your test device.

In Settings, go to the Store settings. Click the Sign Out button. This prevents an actual user account from automatically being used when testing.

Important: Don’t enter your test account information in the Store settings panel. Doing so may invalidate your test account. Connect your test device to your Mac.

In Xcode, set your test device as your scheme’s destination.

Open your app, and perform your in-app purchase product testing.

Use your test account credentials to test the purchase.

When your app uses the Store Kit API to request a payment, you’re asked to sign in. Select Use Existing Account and enter your test account user name and password. You are then asked to confirm the purchase. The transaction completes.

No financial transaction takes place, but a receipt is generated for a successful transaction.

It's pretty straightforward, just takes a bit of set up. Good luck!