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Bad reviews, crashes and complaints

Customers are complaining about our app. Where do we start?

Start with the crash and freeze numbers Apple and Google already collect, not with the reviews, then fix what hurts the most customers before adding anything new. This is for established businesses whose customers or staff depend on the app. We start with an $8,000 audit that takes 1 to 4 weeks: you learn what is driving the complaints, what to fix first, and get a fixed quote for the work.

For businesses whose customers or staff depend on the app.Audits are $8,000, in 1 to 4 weeks.

Tell us what is going on

Who this is for

This is for you if

  • Your ratings are falling, or the same complaint keeps showing up in reviews and support emails.
  • Customers say the app is slow, crashes, or will not let them log in.
  • Each update fixes one thing and breaks another.
  • You paid for the app already and need it to work, not a new list of features.

This is not for you if

  • You need a standalone website with no app behind it.
  • You want a single bug fixed this week for less than the cost of the audit.
  • You want more reviews without fixing what customers are complaining about.

What Apple and Google say

How to improve app store rating: what Apple and Google actually measure

Each fact links to the platform that set the rule. Both stores track more than stars, and both publish what they do about it.

Google looks at the last 28 days

Quality is judged on the last 28 days of data. Emerging problems are flagged early enough to leave 21 days to fix them. Google's advice is to fix the crashes and freezes affecting the most users first.

Source: Android Developers (Creative Commons Attribution 2.5)

Replying to a review can change it

On the App Store you can reply publicly to a review. The customer is told you replied and can update their review. Replies must not contain marketing.

Source: Apple Developer

You can reset the Apple rating once you ship a fix

When you release a new version you can reset the app's overall rating. It cannot be undone, it applies in every country at once, and written reviews stay up.

Source: Apple Developer

Asking for ratings has rules

Apps must use Apple's own review prompt, which a person sees at most three times in a year. Home-made review prompts are not allowed. Apps that crash on launch are removed from the App Store straight away.

Source: Apple Developer

What to do first

  1. Look at the crash and freeze numbers before you read the reviews.

    Google Play Console shows them for the last 28 days. The limits are 1.09% of users seeing a crash and 0.47% seeing a freeze, or 8% on any one phone model.

  2. If you are over a limit, treat it as urgent.

    Google may show the app to fewer people and put a warning on your listing.

  3. Pause new features until the top problems are fixed.

    The complaints are usually about features you already have, not ones you are missing.

  4. Fix the problems that hit the most people first.

    Google gives the same advice. A long list fixed at random rarely moves the rating.

  5. Reply to recent bad reviews, briefly and without selling.

    On the App Store the customer is told you replied and can update the review.

  6. Ship the fix, then decide whether to reset the Apple rating with that release.

    A reset cannot be undone and applies in every country, and old written reviews stay visible.

  7. Ask happy customers for a rating at a good moment, using Apple's own prompt.

    Each person sees it at most three times a year, so choose the moment carefully.

  8. Check that the app opens on every device you support.

    An app that crashes on launch can be removed from the App Store straight away.

What it costs

Audits are $8,000.

For one app and one codebase, in 1 to 4 weeks. Larger apps are quoted higher. The audit is paid on its own; the fixes it recommends are quoted separately, and maintenance after that starts at $10,000 a month with a three-month minimum. Prices are for remote work. On-site work is quoted separately and priced higher.

How the audit works

What you get from the audit

What customers are actually hitting

The crashes, freezes, slow screens and broken flows behind the complaints, ranked by how many people they affect.

What to fix first

A short, ordered list, starting with what hurts the most customers.

What to stop doing

Features or changes to pause until the app is stable.

A fixed quote

For the fixes, or for maintenance that keeps the ratings from sliding back, if you decide to go ahead.

Case study

A therapy app fixed before anything new was added

Therapists relied on the app every day, and the team wanted to keep adding features. We showed them the existing features were the problem and fixed those first. In controlled before-and-after testing on a current iPad, our testing observed the time to open an important record drop from approximately 10 seconds to under one second.

Read the case study

Common questions

Why are our app reviews dropping when nothing changed?

Something usually did change: a new phone or operating system version, a backend change, or an update that broke one path. The crash and freeze numbers in App Store Connect and Google Play Console usually show where to look.

Can we get bad reviews removed?

Not because they are negative. On the App Store you can reply, and the customer can update the review. Once a fix ships you can also reset the overall rating, but the written reviews stay.

We paid an offshore team over $200,000 and still don't have a working app. Can someone take the codebase over and ship it?

Often, yes. Most of that work is usually worth keeping. We start with the audit: we read the code, check who holds the store accounts and signing keys, and tell you what can ship as it is and what has to be fixed first. Then you get a fixed quote. We don't promise a date before reading the code.

Should we rebuild the app from scratch?

Not by default. Most apps that customers complain about can be fixed. The audit tells you what to keep, fix or replace, and what each costs.

How long does the audit take, and what does it cost?

1 to 4 weeks, and $8,000 for one app and one codebase. Larger apps are quoted higher.

Tell us what is going on with your app.

A short note is enough. We reply with whether we can help and what the first step costs.

Tell us what is going on