EAS Update not working on production app despite successful publishing

[Brise322]

Build/Submit details page URL

https://expo.dev/accounts/brise322/projects/trade-match-game/branches/production

Summary

Hello,

I'm experiencing an issue with EAS Update where updates are not being applied to my production app, although the update process appears successful in the CLI and works fine in Expo Go.

Managed or bare?

Managed

Environment

Current Behavior:

• Updates are successfully published (CLI shows success message)
• Updates work correctly when testing via Expo Go
• Production app does not receive/apply the updates

Environment:

• Platform: iOS & Android
• Workflow: Managed

Error output

app.json:

{
  "expo": {
    "name": "TradeMatch",
    "slug": "trade-match-game",
    "version": "1.1.3",
    "updates": {
      "fallbackToCacheTimeout": 0,
      "url": "https://u.expo.dev/0b190df0-8a33-440b-bcad-36a337640df5",
      "enabled": true
    },
    "runtimeVersion": "1.0.0",
    "extra": {
      "eas": {
        "url": "https://u.expo.dev/0b190df0-8a33-440b-bcad-36a337640df5",
      }
    }
  }
}

eas.json:

{
  "cli": {
    "version": ">= 10.2.0"
  },
  "build": {
    "development": {
      "developmentClient": true,
      "distribution": "internal",
      "channel": "development",
      "ios": {
        "simulator": true
      }
    },
    "preview": {
      "distribution": "internal",
      "channel": "preview",
      "ios": {
        "simulator": false
      }
    },
    "production": {
      "android": {
        "buildType": "apk"
      },
      "channel": "production",
      "ios": {
        "distribution": "store"
      }
    }
  },
  "submit": {
    "production": {
      "ios": {
        "appleId": "[REMOVED]",
        "ascAppId": "[REMOVED]",
        "appleTeamId": "[REMOVED]"
      }
    }
  }
}

Reproducible demo or steps to reproduce from a blank project

I'm encountering an issue with EAS Update where my updates are not being applied to the production app, even though:

• The update is successfully published (confirmed in EAS Dashboard)
• The app automatically restarts when an update is detected
• Previous updates were working correctly
• No code changes in update detection logic

Specific Behavior:

1. Run eas update --channel production --message "test update"
2. CLI shows successful update
3. Update appears in EAS Dashboard
4. App detects update and restarts
5. After restart, the app remains unchanged (update not applied)

Important Notes:

• This is a recent issue; previous updates were working fine
• No changes made to update configuration
• No errors in logs
• App restarts indicate update detection is working
• Update can be seen in EAS Dashboard

[cloudy-ninja]

I have the same issue, I'm looking forward to a workaround soon, in my case, our project is bare workflow.

[szdziedzic]

Hi,

I looked at your update dashboard and it seems like your newest updates seem to get installed. Were you able to resolve the issue?

[firasrg]

Hello! I have similar issue here, but I think the reason is the version number! if you don't increment the version number, then EAS becomes confused

[GeorgeHop]

Hello everyone! Trying to figure out how EAS working by updating TestFlight version. Seems it has some input lag or something... My app takes around 25 minutes to be updated.

If you haven't changed any native code in your app you don't need to increment anything according to docs if you want your app to be updated in the store.

Check: https://docs.expo.dev/eas-update/how-it-works/#matching-updates-and-builds

Also as I see @Brise322 does not use any policy in his runtimeVersion in app.json so he manually should increment it each time he updates native code.

Check: https://docs.expo.dev/eas-update/runtime-versions/#setting-runtimeversion

[Brise322]

Hey everyone,

I’m not entirely sure about the root cause of the issue, but I’ve found a solution!
Simply rebuilding the app resolved the problem for me. I suspect it might be an occasional glitch that prevents the updates from being applied correctly, but it doesn’t seem to happen often.

Since I rebuilt, I haven’t encountered the issue again. Hope this helps you as well! 😊