Unable to update Teams app manifest to 1.25 – blocked from publishing

Question

We are currently blocked from publishing our Microsoft Teams app due to a manifest validation issue and are looking for guidance from the Teams Developer support team.

Our app validation in the Teams Developer Portal consistently shows the warning:

Validation_AppWithTeamScopeHasManifestVersionLessThan125

which indicates that apps using Team scope must have manifestVersion >= 1.25.

The problem is that we are unable to resolve this requirement:

In the Teams Developer Portal App package editor, it is not possible to update the manifest version to 1.25 (the value cannot be changed or saved).

When we manually update the manifest JSON to "manifestVersion": "1.25" and try to upload the app package, the upload fails with the error:

“Provided app package was not understood.”

The same warning also appears during Marketplace offer package validation in Partner Center.

This leaves us with no supported way to comply with the validation requirement, and the issue is currently blocking our Teams Store publication and production launch.

Questions:

How can the manifest version be correctly updated to 1.25 or higher in this scenario?

Is this a known issue with the Teams Developer Portal or app package editor?

Is there a recommended workaround or alternative flow to resolve this?

Any guidance from the Teams Developer team would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Hi Lenka Brozmanova,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

It appears you’ve already attempted the expected remediation steps, but validation remains stuck, and you’re now looking to contact Microsoft support directly.

For clarify, this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators, contributors, and external Microsoft employees participating here do not have access to backend systems or the ability to intervene directly in Microsoft product features. Our role is limited to offering technical guidance and sharing best practices based on reported issues, requests, or ideas. Therefore, to help with that, here are two official Microsoft resources you can use to reach the appropriate support channels: the Resolve issues if your Teams Store submission fails article, which explains the concierge validation path and how to engage it, and the Get help and contact support in Partner Center guide for opening a support ticket inside Partner Center.

While you’re waiting for a support agent to respond, I reviewed the issue and would suggest two things you might try in parallel.

First, for the “Provided app package was not understood.” error, double‑check the ZIP package structure, this often occurs when the package doesn’t contain only the required files at the root (typically manifest.json, color.png, and outline.png) or when file names don’t match the manifest. If you only edited manifest.json and then re‑uploaded, it’s possible the package wasn’t rebuilt correctly; you can verify the required components and packaging steps here.

Second, if the problem persists, consider creating a fresh app registration with the updated manifest version and using a new App ID in your source code, then attempt to publish this newly registered app to rule out any legacy registration or catalog state that may be contributing to the failure.

I hope these suggestions are helpful.

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Answer 2

To resolve the issue of updating your Teams app manifest to version 1.25 or higher, you can try the following steps:

1. Manual Update: Ensure you are manually updating the manifestVersion in your manifest.json file to "1.25". Make sure to also update the $schema to the correct version that corresponds with 1.25.

      {
          "$schema" : "https://developer.microsoft.com/json-schemas/teams/v1.25/MicrosoftTeams.schema.json",
          "manifestVersion" : "1.25"
      }
   

2. Validate the Manifest: After updating the manifest, use the Microsoft 365 Agents Toolkit to validate your app manifest. This can help identify any errors that may be causing the upload to fail.
3. Check Encoding and Structure: Ensure that your manifest.json file is encoded in UTF-8 without BOM and that it is placed at the top level of your .zip package. If the structure is incorrect, it may lead to the upload failure.
4. Use Developer Portal: If you are still unable to update the version in the Teams Developer Portal, consider reaching out to Microsoft support for assistance, as this may be a known issue with the portal.
5. Alternative Flow: If the issue persists, you may want to try creating a new app package with the updated manifest from scratch, ensuring all configurations are set correctly.

If none of these steps resolve the issue, it would be advisable to contact Microsoft Teams Developer support directly for further assistance.

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References:

• Troubleshoot your Microsoft Teams app
• Customize app manifest

Answer 3

We have already tried all of the steps mentioned above, but none of those helps. How can I contact MS teams developer support?

Answer 4

Thanks for the suggestions. We’ve already tried all of the steps mentioned (including rebuilding the ZIP package and validating the structure), but none of them resolve the issue.

We’ve also opened three official Microsoft support tickets across different channels, including one directly in Partner Center, and were told this is not something they can assist with.

At this point, we believe this is a platform-level issue in the Teams Developer Portal, and we’re looking for guidance from the Teams engineering/support team on how to proceed.

Thanks for any further help or escalation you can provide.