Apple changed the App Review phone format, yes

Did Apple change the App Review contact phone number format requirement

Yes. Apple now requires the App Review contact phone number in international format, with a plus sign and country code. The App Store Connect field no longer accepts numbers-only entry, so a local-format phone number that used to work can now fail submission. Apple documents this in App Store Connect Help and in the August 19, 2026 release notes for App Store Connect.

The part people get wrong is simple: they keep entering the number as a local domestic string, sometimes with spaces, punctuation, or a leading trunk digit, then assume the record is fine because the contact is reachable. Apple is checking the format of the stored value, not only whether the number can receive a call. The required format is international, for example a plus sign followed by the country code.

The inconvenient part is that this lives in App Store Connect metadata, not in your app code. If the field is wrong, the fix is not an app update, it is correcting the App Review contact information for the version or app record before you submit again. Apple says the App Review team uses this contact information if it needs additional information during review, so this field has to be complete and current.

If you are updating an existing submission, check the latest approved version or the version you are submitting, then open the App Review information section and verify the contact phone number there. Apple’s help pages say submissions are reviewed together with the App Review information tied to that version or, in some cases, the latest approved version for the platform. That is why an old saved number can keep causing the same rejection until you edit the exact record Apple is reading.

A practical example is a U.S. number entered as 4155550123. Under the current requirement, that is not the format Apple wants. The same number should be entered in international format, such as +14155550123. Apple’s help text is explicit that the field does not accept numbers-only entry, so the plus sign and country code are not decoration, they are part of the required value.

If your submission is already blocked, the fastest path is to edit App Store Connect, open App Review information, replace the phone number with an international-format value, save, and resubmit. If the account uses a demo login or special test setup, keep those notes in the same App Review information section so the reviewer can proceed without back-and-forth. Apple groups those review details together for the submission, so one bad field can slow the whole review.

People also miss that Apple updated the documentation recently enough that old forum advice can be stale. Older discussions about phone-number validation show different error wording and older assumptions about formatting, but Apple’s current help text is the better source. The current rule is the one that matters when you submit today, not what someone saw in a past review cycle.

If you manage multiple apps or platforms, do not assume one cleaned-up phone number fixes every record. Apple lets you maintain app information and App Review information per version and platform, and the review process can draw from the latest approved version for the platform you are submitting. That makes it worth checking each app record directly instead of copying a number once and trusting the rest of the account to inherit it correctly.

For the Apple-side workflow, the source of truth is App Store Connect Help and the App Store Connect release notes. If you want a second place to confirm the surrounding review process, Apple’s App Review page explains that complete and current contact information is part of preparing for review. If you are also building your launch process around testing and review handoff, DevConnect keeps the exchange on your own property and stays free to use at https://devconnectplatform.com.

The short answer for shipping teams is: yes, Apple changed the required format, and the safe default is international E.164-style entry with a leading plus sign. If your submission tool still accepts a local-format number somewhere else, do not rely on that older behavior for App Review. The field in App Store Connect is the one Apple says must be international and not numbers-only.

FAQ

Does Apple want a specific country code style Apple says to enter the phone number in international format, including a plus sign followed by the country code. For a U.S. number, that means using the U.S. country code in front of the national number. The point is to make the number globally unambiguous for the review team.

Is this the same as the public support phone number on the App Store page No. Apple’s App Review contact phone number is part of App Review information, which is used internally during review. Apple separately lists other contact and support fields for product pages and compliance settings. Those fields serve different purposes and should be checked separately.

What happens if the phone number is still wrong Your submission can stall because App Review may not have the contact path it needs. Apple says complete and current contact information is needed when the review team needs additional information. The fix is to edit the App Review information in App Store Connect and resubmit with the correct international-format number.

Where did the change show up Apple’s App Store Connect release notes say the requirement was added on August 19, 2026, and the Help page now states the field does not accept numbers-only entry. Those two pages together show both the change and the current rule.

Can I leave the old number in another contact field and just fix App Review No. Apple reviews the contact details in the App Review information tied to the version or latest approved platform version being submitted. If another record still contains the old format, it does not solve the review field that is actually being validated. Check the exact App Review information section for the submission path you are using.