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iOS VPP app shows higher build number than App Store version in Hexnode

iOS VPP app shows higher build number than App Store version in HexnodeSolved

Participant

1 month ago

Some of our managed iPads are showing strange version numbers for a few VPP apps in Hexnode. The apps show values like 2.2.118 or 2.2.119, which are higher than the version listed in the App Store/VPP metadata.

Because of this, the apps do not seem to update normally. After some time, the affected apps stop working, and the only way we have been able to recover them is by removing and reinstalling the app. That resets the app configuration, so it is not a practical fix.

This is happening across all iPads, not just one device. These are VPP apps, not local enterprise apps. Has anyone seen iOS report a higher app version than the actual App Store version?

Replies (2)

Marked SolutionPending Review

simon_scott

Hexnode Expert

1 month ago

Marked SolutionPending Review

Hello @eduardo ,

This behavior is usually not caused by a syncing issue in Hexnode UEM, but rather by how the app developer configured the app’s internal versioning.

When Hexnode queries a device to see which apps are installed, it retrieves the app version details directly from the iPad through Apple’s MDM framework. iOS apps use two different version fields:

CFBundleShortVersionString: The public-facing marketing version (e.g., 1.3.1).
CFBundleVersion: The internal build number used by the developer (e.g., 2.2.118).

Hexnode UEM expects the marketing version, but if a developer mistakenly places their internal build number into that public field, iOS natively reports that abnormally high number back to the MDM. Since Hexnode simply displays what the device reports, the version shown in the portal ends up being mathematically higher than what is actually available in the App Store, which causes standard update validations to fail.

Marked SolutionPending Review

eduardo

Participant

1 month ago

Marked SolutionPending Review

That makes sense. We did try checking the app inventory and scanning devices, but it did not change anything. The same high version number is shown on all iPads for the affected VPP apps, so it sounds like the app package itself may be reporting it incorrectly. We’ll ask the developers to update CFBundleShortVersionString in their next release.

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iOS VPP app shows higher build number than App Store version in HexnodeSolved

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