Apple Push Notification Service Certificate Renewal
Overview
This how-to explains how to renew your Apple Push Notification Service certificate on a regular base. Since the Apple Push Notification Service certificate has a maximum validity period of 1 year, you will need one year after your first APNs certificate creation or one year after the last renewal, to renew the certificate in order to continue managing your Apple devices.
We recommend performing the renewal process with Chrome, Firefox or Microsoft Edge.
Certificate Renewal
To renew your Apple Push Notification Service certificate, please perform the following actions:
Request new Certificate
- Login to your Silverback Management Console as an Administrator
- Navigate to Admin
- Select Certificates
- Locate the Apple Push Notification Service section
- Review your currently used Apple ID
- Review your current Push Topic
- Press Request Certificate
Sign and download the CSR
- In the next Popup, choose Sign the request automatically
- Select Sign the request automatically
- A new pop-up will open
- Login with your Matrix42 Account
- Press Allow Access
- Press Download to download the signed CSR (Mdm_certificateRequest.txt)
Your Matrix42 Account requires the role Enterprise Manager for performing the signing request with the Matrix42 Mobile Portal.
Create and download your renewed certificate
- Navigate to https://identity.apple.com/pushcert/
- Sign in with your currently used Apple ID
- Locate your current Apple Push Notification Certificate
- Use the Expiration Data as an indicator or
- Press the information icon to review the Subject DN and Notes and to locate the UID entry which you can compare with the Push Topic information in Silverback
- e.g. com.apple.mgmt.External.a80fb15f-b29a-4e9b-8cc0-77461db4184c
- Press Renew
- Select Choose File
- Locate your recently downloaded signed CSR (Mdm_certificateRequest.txt)
- Press Upload
- Press Download
Import your renewed Certificate
- Navigate back to your Silverback Management Console
- Enter your currently used Apple ID
- Press Choose File
- Select your recently downloaded certificate (MDM_ Silverback MDM LLC_Certificate.pem)
- Press Submit
- Finished
Troubleshooting
This FAQ should address frequent problems and challenges when creating or extending the Apple Push Notification Service certificate.
I get an an error message when I chose to let Silverback sign the request automatically. A web browser page pops up to Matrix42 Accounts error message "The resource you are looking for has been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable."
This is most likely a problem with your Matrix42 Account permission. Please contact the Matrix42 support to correct the permission settings, or cancel the current request and start the process again and choose 'I will perform the signing by myself' as the CSR signing option.
Which Matrix42 Account permissions does an admin need to use the automatic Silverback request feature?
The admin needs 'Enterprise Manager' permission for his Matrix42 Account.
What can be the reason for a non-matching Apple APNS topic?
Typically this is because you used the wrong Apple ID. Cancel the current CSR request, and find out the correct Apple ID used for the initial APNS creation.