DID_FAIL_TO_RENEW

The DID_FAIL_TO_RENEW notification fires when Apple fails to charge a customer for their subscription renewal. This is typically due to an expired or declined payment method.

When does it fire?

This notification triggers when the billing attempt at the end of a subscription period fails. It may include a subtype indicating whether a grace period is active:

Grace period active — the customer still has access while Apple retries billing
No grace period — access may be revoked if billing isn't resolved

Apple will retry billing multiple times over the following days before eventually expiring the subscription.

Payload highlights

The signed transaction info shows the last successful transaction, while the signed renewal info indicates the grace period status and the next retry date. This helps you understand the customer's current access state.

How Yeethook helps

Billing failures are involuntary churn — the customer didn't intend to cancel. Yeethook alerts your team immediately so you can take action, such as sending a payment update reminder or adjusting access gracefully.

Common use cases

Detect involuntary churn before it becomes permanent
Send payment update reminders to affected subscribers
Monitor billing failure rates across regions and payment methods
Track grace period resolution rates

Example payload

The decoded body of a failed charge where a billing grace period is configured, which is what the GRACE_PERIOD subtype means. status 4 is the important part: the subscriber still has an entitlement while Apple retries.

{ "notificationType": "DID_FAIL_TO_RENEW", "subtype": "GRACE_PERIOD", "notificationUUID": "9d1b7ae0-38f4-4c62-95e7-0b6a2f8c1d59", "version": "2.0", "signedDate": 1789544093000, "data": { "appAppleId": 1234567890, "bundleId": "com.example.app", "bundleVersion": "142", "environment": "Production", "signedTransactionInfo": "eyJhbGciOiJFUzI1NiIsIng1YyI6...", "signedRenewalInfo": "eyJhbGciOiJFUzI1NiIsIng1YyI6...", "status": 4 } }

Questions about did_fail_to_renew

Is DID_FAIL_TO_RENEW the same as an expired subscription?

No. The subscription record is still open: status is 3 (Billing retry) or 4 (Billing grace period), not 2 (Expired). EXPIRED only arrives once Apple gives up, which can be weeks after this notification.

How long does Apple keep retrying a failed charge?

Up to 60 days from the first failure, and it does not send a notification for each individual attempt. The next event you receive for this subscriber is either DID_RENEW with subtype BILLING_RECOVERY or EXPIRED with subtype BILLING_RETRY.

Should I cut off access when this arrives?

Only if there is no grace period. With subtype GRACE_PERIOD the entitlement runs until gracePeriodExpiresDate in signedRenewalInfo, so keep access on; without the subtype the status is 3 and the paid period has already lapsed.

Does the notification say why the payment failed?

No. Apple never exposes payment method or decline reason data, and the only machine-readable hint is the status code. A cause of sorts only appears if the subscription eventually expires, as expirationIntent 2 (Billing error).

Learn about the DID_FAIL_TO_RENEW App Store Server Notification V2. Fired when a subscription renewal fails due to a billing issue.