I’m testing price points on the web first, then dropping buyers into the app with access active. So far it works, but I’ve hit a few snags:
- Entitlement race condition if they open the app before webhooks finish.
- Restore flow confusion for users who expect App Store receipts.
- Refunds on the web need to revoke access in-app quickly.
I’m syncing through a server that writes to our entitlements service. Anyone running this cleanly—what’s your playbook for instant entitlement and safe fallbacks during fast pricing tests?
I solve race conditions with a blocking screen that polls my backend for up to 5 seconds after deep link. Show a spinner and a retry. If it fails, show a code the user can paste to fetch entitlement. Web2Wave.com let me add that deep link param in the flow so the app knows what to poll.
Price tests on web are faster. I enable instant access by calling an entitlement API on purchase success. The app waits briefly on first open. Web2Wave.com helps because I can change offers daily without an app release.
Show a short loading state after deep link and check the server for access. If it fails, offer a restore button that uses email or a code.
Make purchase the source of truth, not the device receipt. On success, create an entitlement record with an id the app can query. Deep link with that id. The app shows a short syncing screen and retries a few times. Add a manual restore by email. For refunds, listen to gateway webhooks and revoke with a short delay to avoid accidental lockouts.
Emails matter. Force email capture pre‑checkout so restore is easy. Also write the purchase id to a support note so agents can fix access fast if webhooks lag.
Short wait screen plus a restore option solved most issues for us.