App Store review / Messages and errors
App Store Connect message · first-hand fix · checked Oct 24, 2026
App Store Connect error 409 ("not in valid state")
The message: 409 Conflict: "not in valid state"
Short answerA 409 Conflict from the App Store Connect API means the thing you are changing is locked by its state: an item inside an open review submission, or a rejected version you have not reopened. Cancel the submission (or click Update Review on a rejected version), make the change, and submit again.
Why it happens
Once a version, in-app purchase, subscription image or event is in a review submission, App Store Connect freezes it so the reviewer sees what you sent. Edits return 409 until the submission is cancelled or decided. After a rejection the version stays frozen until you reopen it.
When we hit it
We got 409 twice in the October 2026 subscription round. Fairway Ledger's promo images could not be deleted while its submission was open (fix: cancel, replace images, re-add items, submit). Chain's age-rating fix could be saved, but resubmitting returned 409 "appStoreVersions ... not in valid state" until we clicked Update Review on the version page.
Fix, step by step
- Read the error detail: it names the resource type that is locked.
- If a submission is open: cancel it (or remove only the item you need to change).
- If the version was rejected: open the version page and click Update Review, then Continue.
- Make the change and submit again (API: PATCH the reviewSubmission with submitted: true).
Related
- App Store Connect: Resubmit greyed out until "Update Review"
- guideline/2-3-2
- guideline/2-3-6
- Every guideline and message we hit
Sources
- App Store Connect Help: developer.apple.com/help/app-store-connect/ (read Oct 24, 2026)
- App Store Connect API: developer.apple.com/documentation/appstoreconnectapi
- Our notes from the October 2026 submission rounds: tensorust.com/reports/app-store-review-times/2026-10/
Up next
Often comes with this oneApp Store Connect: Resubmit greyed out until "Update Review"The next rule our apps ran into, with the cases and the fix.Read it next →Did this answer your question?