Apple — .p12 certificate

The .p12 certificate is the older way to authenticate with APNs. It works, but:

• it covers a single app (one Bundle ID);
• it expires every year: if you don't renew it, iOS stops receiving notifications.

If you can, use the .p8 key.

1. Create the certificate

1. On a Mac, open Keychain Access → Certificate Assistant → Request a Certificate From a Certificate Authority and save the .certSigningRequest file.
2. At developer.apple.com → Certificates → + → Apple Push Notification service SSL (Sandbox & Production) → choose the App ID → upload the .certSigningRequest → download the .cer.
3. Open the .cer (it's installed in Keychain), right-click the certificate → Export → .p12 format → give it a password.

2. Upload it to Pushtifly

Apps → your app → Credentials → iOS (APNs) → .p12 certificate: the file and its password. Pushtifly reads the certificate and shows:

• the Bundle ID it contains;
• the environments it covers;
• the expiration date.

Upload errors:

• 5005: wrong password.
• 5004: the certificate's Bundle ID isn't the app's.
• 5003: the certificate has already expired.

Renewal

Pushtifly warns you by email, in the panel and by webhook (credential.expiring) 30, 15, 7, 3 and 1 days before expiration. To renew, repeat the steps and upload the new .p12. It replaces the previous one without interrupting sends.

If the certificate expires, sends to iOS fail with 5003 (CERTIFICATE_EXPIRED) until you upload a valid one.