iOS Question How to deal with IOS push notification certificate renewal?

Martin Larsen

Active Member
Licensed User
Longtime User
My app's Apple Push Services Certificate is going to expire soon.
  1. - I went to Apple Developer "Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles" and created a new certificate and downloaded the aps.cer file.
  2. - Then, in the IDE, I chose Tools > Build Server > Create Push Store > Firebase Service and downloaded the firebase_push.p12 file
  3. - The file was uploaded to the APNs Certificates section in Firebase > Project Settings > Cloud Messaging
  4. - The app itself does not need any changes, if I understand it correctly

From here I am a bit unsure.

1.
I have now two APNs Certificates, one to expire soon and the new one. Should I delete the older certificate or just keep it and let it expire?


Edit: I probably uploaded the new certificate instead of updating the old one. I tried with another app and ended up with only one certificate. So I deleted the one I uploaded before and updated the existing cert. Now I have only one listed. My next question still apply:

2.
Should I change anything in the server code that sends the push notifications to reflect the updated certificate?

3 (Bonus question).
I just found that my provisioning profile is expired. Strangely, I didn't get any email notifications from Apple (just checked). The app works fine, though, and seems ok on App Store. Am I right that the provisioning profile is only needed when I want to update my app? In that case, I would rather wait.
 
Last edited:

Andrew (Digitwell)

Well-Known Member
Licensed User
Longtime User
There is no need to renew your push notification certificate each year.

Switch to an authentication key.

 
Upvote 0

Martin Larsen

Active Member
Licensed User
Longtime User
Switch to an authentication key.

Can I do that without compiling and uploading a new app?

I see the benefits of this method when you have several apps to maintain. In my case there is only one though, and the renewal process doesn't take long.

My problem is mainly, do I need to change anything when sending the push notifications? I guess the same question applies to the alternative method.
 
Upvote 0

Andrew (Digitwell)

Well-Known Member
Licensed User
Longtime User
Can I do that without compiling and uploading a new app?
Yes, you can the certificate is independent of the app.

do I need to change anything when sending the push notifications?
No, you don't have to change anything to use the new method. Just go into firebase and add the new certificate No other changes needed,

As noted, it does take a few minutes for the new certificate to propagate though.
 
Upvote 0
Top