How to Change App Store Screenshots After Your App Is Live

To change App Store screenshots on a live app, create a new app version in App Store Connect, upload the new screenshots to it, attach a build uploaded since the current release, and submit it for review. If you don't want to ship a build, start a Product Page Optimization test with the new screenshots as a treatment, then apply that treatment to your original product page once Apple approves it.

Apple's help page on uploading previews and screenshots lists the five version statuses that accept screenshot uploads: Prepare for Submission, Invalid Binary, Rejected, Metadata Rejected, and Developer Rejected. Ready for Distribution isn't on the list. Once a version is approved, its screenshot wells stop accepting changes, which is why the top answer for this search, an Apple Developer Forums thread, says screenshots can't be changed after approval without a new submission. That answer is about the version page, and it's still accurate there. The other two routes work outside the version, so they don't need a build.

Route	Needs a build	Who sees the new screenshots	Best for
New app version	Yes, one uploaded since the live version's release	Everyone, once the version is released	A refresh that ships with an update
Product Page Optimization, then applied	No, unless the test includes an alternate app icon	A share of visitors during the test, then everyone after you apply it	Swapping screenshots between releases
Custom product page	No	Visitors who arrive through that page's link, keywords, or ads	A different set for one audience or campaign

All three go through App Review. None of them edits the approved version in place.

Why the screenshot wells are locked

An app version in App Store Connect is a bundle of a build and the metadata that describes it, and Apple reviews the two together. Each version stores its own images per device size and language, so approving the version approves that exact set. If Apple let you swap images on a live version, the listing could show something App Review never saw. The Asset Library follows the same logic: Apple's page says you can delete an asset only while its status is Prepared for Submission. So when the drop areas are missing or the delete buttons don't appear, check the version status in the sidebar before you check your files. If the status is Ready for Distribution, there's nothing wrong with your account or your screenshots, and you need one of the routes below.

Ship the new set with your next version

This is the route most developers take, because the screenshot change rides along with an update you were going to submit anyway.

1. In App Store Connect, open the app and add a new version from the sidebar with a higher version number than the live one.
2. Open Product Page Information on the new version. Apple may copy the live screenshots into it, so remove the old ones first: open Media Manager's full size list, scroll to the device size, and click the delete button on each image. Apple notes that removing a screenshot also removes it from every smaller display size that uses a scaled copy.
3. Upload the new set to each device size you want to replace. Before you drag files in, run them through the free size checker, which flags a wrong pixel size or an alpha channel in your browser before you upload. The screenshot size tables list what each display slot accepts.
4. Switch languages from the menu at the top right and repeat for every localization you're updating. A locale you skip keeps whatever was copied into it.
5. Choose a build and submit the version for review.

The build is the step that surprises people who only wanted new images. Apple's help page on choosing a build says the build picker only lists builds uploaded since the live version was released, so you can't reattach the build that's already on the store. A screenshot-only update still means archiving and uploading a fresh build, even one where the only change is the version and build number. After you submit, Apple's App Review page says it typically reviews at least half of submissions in under 24 hours and 90% in under 48 hours. For error messages at the drop and files stuck processing, see why App Store screenshots fail to upload.

Swap them without a build through a test treatment

Product Page Optimization exists for A/B tests, but its last step makes it a way to change screenshots between releases. You create a test with up to three treatments, each with its own screenshots, app previews, or app icon, and choose what share of visitors sees them. Apple says tests without an alternate app icon can be submitted for review independent of a new app version, so a screenshot-only treatment needs no build. When a treatment is approved and running, App Store Connect lets you apply it to your original product page, which puts its screenshots in front of everyone and ends the test. Apple recommends waiting until a treatment reaches at least 90% confidence, which matters if you want the test data, though the apply button doesn't require it.

The steps in App Store Connect are short:

1. Under the app in App Store Connect, open Product Page Optimization and create a test. Only one test can run at a time.
2. Add a single treatment and upload the new screenshots to it, in each localization you want changed.
3. Set the traffic share, submit the treatment for review, and start the test once it's approved.
4. Open the treatment and apply it to the original product page.

Keep two things in mind. A test with an alternate icon does need a new app version, because every icon variant has to be in the published binary, so leave the icon out if the point is to avoid a build. And when you later create your next version, look at which screenshots it starts with before you submit, so an older set doesn't come back with the update.

Custom product pages leave the default listing alone

Custom product pages are additional versions of your listing, up to 70 of them, each with its own screenshots, app previews, and promotional text for any of your localizations. Apple reviews them independently of an app update. They reach people through a unique link, through keywords you assign so the page shows in search for those terms, through Apple Ads, and in editorial placements. Your default product page stays as it was. Use a custom page when an ad campaign or a keyword group should land on a different set, and a new version or a treatment when most visitors should see the change.

When the version is rejected or waiting for review

Rejected, Metadata Rejected, and Developer Rejected are all on Apple's editable list, so a rejected version accepts new screenshots directly. Replace them and resubmit; the guide to rejected screenshots covers reading the App Review message and replying. A version that's waiting for review can be removed from review, which moves it to Developer Rejected, and then its screenshots can be changed before you submit it again. It goes back into the review queue when you do.

Screenies and locked versions

Screenies makes a new set from the screenshots you upload and a short description of the app, at one credit per iPhone slide from a one-time credit pack. Once the workspace has bought a pack, the dashboard uploads the finished set to a linked app's editable version, saving the current screenshots as a backup first, and when the live version is locked it can create a draft version with the number you choose. That draft still needs a build and App Review before the new set goes live, and Screenies uploads to app versions only, not to test treatments or custom product pages. The App Store Connect upload guide covers the setup.