in app purchase - (iOS + StoreKit) Can I detect when I'm in the sandbox?

Question

I've got in-app purchases working just fine, and I'm going the server validation route. The server needs to know whether I'm in the sandbox or not, so for now I'm just sending it a "&sandbox=1" parameter. Of course when the full version of the app is out I won't be sending this parameter.

I'd rather not have this hardcoded in my app, as that will make testing difficult in the future, and it's one more (big) thing to remember to change before submitting builds to Apple.

Is there a way I can ask StoreKit if I am in the sandbox so I can then determine whether or not I need to send this parameter to my server? Alternatively, is there any other best practice for handling server validation?

Thinking about this more, should I just have the server always check the live system first, then the sandbox? If apple IDs are segregated between the live and sandbox systems then it wouldn't do any harm would it?

Thanks.

Answer 1

After a bit of digging I found this from Apple's Technical Note TN2259:

How do I verify my receipt (iOS)?

Always verify your receipt first with the production URL; proceed to verify with the sandbox URL if you receive a 21007 status code. Following this approach ensures that you do not have to switch between URLs while your application is being tested or reviewed in the sandbox or is live in the App Store.

So it looks like I should axe the &sandbox parameter completely and just do that. I really had to dig for this answer so I'm posting it here in hopes that someone else runs across it!