[Expo 44] [Expo FaceDetector] App built by EAS build can't be distributed through App Store

Summary

An app using expo-face-detector built by EAS build can’t be distributed through App Store (TestFlight). I tested following builds:

• 1.0.1 - Blank project.
• 1.0.2 - Add expo-camera only.
• 1.0.3 - Add expo-camera and expo-face-detector.
• 1.0.4 - Same as 1.0.3 but built by classic build expo build:ios

The version 1.0.3 (including expo-face-detector / built by EAS build) has something problem. I was able to upload the archive .ipa through Transporter.app (so it must be verified and validated fine). But the App Store Connect status screen shows “In processing” forever (see screen shot).

I also contacted to the support center, but they couldn’t figure out the root cause, but told me that they have confirmed that there is a problem with the delivery of the build. Also, I was able to work around the problem by using the classic build, so I did not pursue it further.

I know the classic build service will be ended. However, I cannot distribute the app without continuing to use the classic build. Please let me know if you need any other information.

Managed or bare workflow? If you have ios/ or android/ directories in your project, the answer is bare!

managed

What platform(s) does this occur on?

iOS

SDK Version (managed workflow only)

44.0.0

Environment

$ npx expo-env-info
Need to install the following packages:
  expo-env-info
Ok to proceed? (y) 

  expo-env-info 1.0.2 environment info:
    System:
      OS: macOS 11.5.2
      Shell: 5.8 - /bin/zsh
    Binaries:
      Node: 16.13.1 - /usr/local/bin/node
      Yarn: 1.22.10 - /usr/local/bin/yarn
      npm: 8.5.3 - /usr/local/bin/npm
      Watchman: 4.9.0 - /usr/local/bin/watchman
    SDKs:
      iOS SDK:
        Platforms: iOS 14.5, DriverKit 20.4, macOS 11.3, tvOS 14.5, watchOS 7.4
      Android SDK:
        API Levels: 30
        Build Tools: 30.0.3
        System Images: android-25 | Google APIs ARM 64 v8a
    IDEs:
      Xcode: 12.5.1/12E507 - /usr/bin/xcodebuild
    npmPackages:
      expo: ~44.0.0 => 44.0.6 
      react: 17.0.1 => 17.0.1 
      react-dom: 17.0.1 => 17.0.1 
      react-native: 0.64.3 => 0.64.3 
      react-native-web: 0.17.1 => 0.17.1 
    npmGlobalPackages:
      eas-cli: 0.48.2
      expo-cli: 5.3.0
    Expo Workflow: managed

Reproducible demo

Create a new project.

$ expo -V
5.3.0
$ expo init expo-face-detector-playground
❯   blank (TypeScript)  same as blank but with TypeScript configuration

Install dependencies.

expo install expo-camera expo-face-detector

Edit App.tsx. This app simply shows front camera preview and track faces with green bounding box.

import { useState, useEffect } from "react";
import { StyleSheet, View } from "react-native";
import { Camera, FaceDetectionResult } from "expo-camera";
import * as FaceDetector from "expo-face-detector";

export default function App() {
  const [faceDetected, setFaceDetected] = useState<FaceDetectionResult | null>(
    null
  );

  useEffect(() => {
    (async () => {
      const { status } = await Camera.requestCameraPermissionsAsync();
      if (status !== "granted") {
        alert("No camera access");
      }
    })();
  }, []);

  const handleFacesDetected = (result: FaceDetectionResult) => {
    setFaceDetected(result);
  };

  return (
    <View style={styles.container}>
      <Camera
        style={styles.camera}
        type={Camera.Constants.Type.front}
        onFacesDetected={handleFacesDetected}
        faceDetectorSettings={{
          mode: FaceDetector.FaceDetectorMode.fast,
          detectLandmarks: FaceDetector.FaceDetectorLandmarks.none,
          runClassifications: FaceDetector.FaceDetectorClassifications.none,
          minDetectionInterval: 100,
          tracking: true,
        }}
      >
        {faceDetected?.faces.map((face, i) => (
          <View
            key={i}
            style={{
              position: "absolute",
              borderWidth: 2,
              borderColor: "green",
              width: face.bounds.size.width,
              height: face.bounds.size.height,
              top: face.bounds.origin.y,
              left: face.bounds.origin.x,
            }}
          />
        ))}
      </Camera>
    </View>
  );
}

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  container: {
    flex: 1,
    backgroundColor: "#fff",
  },
  camera: {
    flex: 1,
  },
});

EAS build configuration eas.json

{
  "cli": {
    "version": ">= 0.48.2"
  },
  "build": {
    "development": {
      "developmentClient": true,
      "distribution": "internal"
    },
    "preview": {
      "distribution": "internal"
    },
    "production": {}
  }
}

Build an archive and upload it through Transporter.app.

$ eas build --platform ios --profile production

[ishikawa]

I’ve successfully distributed the new version by setting "bitcode": "Debug". Many thanks for your help!

[byCedric]

Hi @ishikawa! Thanks for writing in and providing the necessary reproduction information! I can confirm this is indeed an issue, but only when bitcode is enabled. It seems to be an issue on Apple’s side, starting from this incident, where some apps aren’t getting processed.

You should be able to get the EAS build processed by disabling bitcode for now. You can do that by adding this config property to your app.json manifest.

{
  "expo": {
    "ios": {
      "bitcode": "Debug"
    }
  }
}

By setting the expo.ios.bitcode to Debug, you’ll only enable bitcode for debug builds and excluding release or production builds. It’s unfortunate that Apple deployed a change like this, without providing feedback or information about what’s wrong. So I’m afraid a fix for this might take some time.

Hope this gets you at least unblocked for now!