Picture this: It’s late June. You’re catching up on emails when a subject line jumps out at you:
“Why did Salesforce defer the ICU Locale Format update — is your app causing this?”
You open the thread. One of your biggest customers is frustrated. They just upgraded to the Salesforce Summer ’25 release, but the new ICU Locale Formats weren’t enabled. Their internal team traced the issue to legacy metadata in their org, and it turns out your AppExchange package is part of the problem.
They’re asking: Why is your app using outdated API versions? Why didn’t you warn us?
This isn’t just a support case that gets logged and resolved. An escalation threatens trust, slows down their release pipeline, and suddenly puts your product under scrutiny.
What’s Actually Happening?
Salesforce is migrating to ICU (International Components for Unicode) locale formats, which are a modern, standardized way to display dates, times, currencies, and more across languages and regions. They replace the older JDK-based formats.
This is a backend change, but it impacts how data is rendered, which has ripple effects on reports, UI, user experiences, and even integrations.
Here’s the important part:
If any metadata in a customer org is on API version < 45, including anything from your AppExchange app, Salesforce will automatically defer the ICU update for that org.
Yes, even if the rest of the organisation is ready, just one component in your package could block the ICU rollout.
So, while the org technically upgrades to Summer ’25, it won’t receive this critical enhancement because of your technical debt.
Why It Matters
You may not be thinking about ICU formats, but your customers will, the moment they don’t get the upgrade they were expecting. Here’s what could be coming your way:
- Blocked Feature Access – Your app might silently prevent ICU activation
- Escalations – Customers may flood your support channels asking why your app caused this
- Trust Issues – A “minor” technical debt could raise concerns about product quality
- Increased Support Costs – Your team will spend cycles on reactive triage instead of roadmap delivery
- Brand Risk – A single org-wide issue can erode hard-earned customer confidence
How to Protect Your Customers and Your Reputation
You still have time to get ahead of this before June 14. Here’s how:
Step 1: Audit Your Metadata
- Check all components in your managed package (Apex, LWC, Visualforce, Flows, etc.)
- Flag anything on API version < 45
Step 2: Upgrade API Versions
- Refactor and update components to the latest API version
- Prioritize compatibility and forward-looking support
Step 3: Test Deeply
- Run all Apex tests
- Execute Jest/unit tests for LWCs
- Perform full app smoke testing and regression checks
Step 4: Release and Push
- Package the updated version
- Push upgrades to customers ahead of Summer ’25
Even if some parts fail during upgrade testing, it highlights where technical debt exists and gives you a clear path to improve.
Need Help? That’s Where We Come In
At Aquiva Labs, we work with dozens of AppExchange partners to manage high-impact platform changes like this one. We can:
- Conduct a comprehensive audit of your package’s metadata and API version usage
- Identify all at-risk components
- Plan and implement targeted upgrades and refactors
- Help you package and test an ICU-ready version before June 14
We’re a trusted PDO partner, and this is exactly the type of release preparation for which we’re built.
Get Ahead of the Problem
Compliance matters, but what truly stands out is showing customers you’re proactive, prepared, and committed to their success.
Whether you fix it yourself or need a partner, don’t wait until customers start asking tough questions.
Let’s talk and make sure your app isn’t the reason ICU gets deferred.
Additional Resources
Author
Jakub Stefaniak
Field CTO
