Create an iOS push certificate - Mobile Platform as a Service

To send messages to an iOS device, you need to configure the iOS push certificate in the Message Push Service (MPS) console. iOS push certificate is used for message push. This topic describes types of certificates supported by the Message Push Service and the method of preparing a certificate.

Certificate types

Message Push Service only supports the Apple Push Service certificate. To learn more about Apple certificate types and related description, see Certificate type.

It is easy to confuse the Apple Push Service certificate with iOS Development certificate. Using iOS Development certificate may cause message push failure. The following sections describe how to distinguish between the two certificates through Key Store MAC and Message Push Service console.

Certificate type	Purpose
Apple Push Service	It is the Apple push certificate for production environment. It is used to establish connectivity between your notification service and APNs to deliver remote notifications to your app.
iOS Development	It is the Apple push certificate for development environment. It is used during development and testing.

MAC Key Store

Double-click the existing .p12 certificate and import the certificate into the MAC Keychain. The certificate information such as the name is displayed.

Among the certificates:

iPhone Developer: Apple development certificate that is not supported by Message Push Service.
Apple Push Services: Apple push certificate for the production environment that is supported by Message Push Service.
Apple Development IOS Push Services: Apple push certificate for the development environment that is supported by Message Push Service.

MPS console

After the certificate is imported into the Message Push Service console, the following certificate information is displayed.

Check the subjectDN attribute.

Apple Development IOS Push Services: Apple push certificate for the development environment that is supported by Message Push Service.
Apple Push Service: Apple push certificate for the production environment that is supported by Message Push Service.

In the preceding figure, the subjectDN attribute is iPhone Developer, indicating that it is an Apple development certificate, which is not supported by Message Push Service.

Prepare a certificate

Create an iOS app ID

On Apple Developer, click App IDs in the left navigation pane, and click + in the upper right corner.
Enter the basic information.
- App ID Description > Name
- App ID Suffix > Bundle ID (The Bundle ID must be unique.)
Check Push Notifications.
Click Continue, and click Register. An iOS app ID is created.

Prepare a .certSigningRequest file

Access the MAC Keychain.
Request a certificate, choose Keychain Access > Certificate Assistant > Request a Certificate From a Certificate Authority….
In the Certificate Information window, enter relevant information, such as the email address and name, based on actual situations.
A .certSigningRequest file is successfully generated.

Create a certificate

On the iOS App IDs page, select your iOS app ID and click Edit.
Click Create Certificate under Development SSL Certificate or Production SSL Certificate to create a certificate for the development or production environment.
Upload the . certSigningRequest file that you have prepared.
After a certificate is created successfully, the following page is displayed. Click Download to download the .cer file.
Convert the .cer file into a .p12 file.
1. Double-click the .cer file to import it into the MAC Key Store.
2. Right-click the file that you have imported, and export it. The file is exported as a . p12 file.
After obtaining the .p12 iOS push certificate, go to the mPaaS console, select the target App > Message Push Service > Push configuration to configure it.