Add a new Apple Push Certificate

Apple uses Push Notification Certificates to maintain persistent communication between Apple Devices. You must add a Push Notification Certificate before you can enroll and manage devices in Device Management for Apple(DMA).

To simplify the enrollment process for new clients, we recommend you add their push certificate before you onboard their Apple devices.

After you add a Push Notification Certificate for your account or for a Client, all devices included in that account or for that Client expect to enroll in DMA, and have a status of Awaiting Approval. The devices stay in the Awaiting Approval state until the Enrollment Helper is turned on and end users enroll their devices.

Certificates are available from the Apple Push Certificates portal and are valid for one year. To maintain service continuity, the certificate must be renewed before the expiration date.

When a Push Notification Certificate expires, Apple requires a new certificate. If you have to add a new certificate rather than renew one, you must re-enroll your device in Device Management for Apple.

To add an Apple Push Notification Certificate, follow these steps:

  1. In the left-hand navigation menu, click Configuration > Device Management for Apple.
  2. On the Push Certificates tab, select Add

    The Certificate setup dialog displays.

  3. Select the certificate type

    Choice Action
    Select Account

    This option is only available if an account-level certificate does not exist.

    		 Optionally, enter a Company Name to automatically populate and replace the default MSP name when enrolling devices
    Select Customer
    1. Select a client from the Customer drop-down menu
    2. Optionally, enter a Company Name to automatically populate and replace the default MSP name when enrolling devices
  4. Click Next

The Download CSR dialog displays.

  1. Enter the Apple ID you will use to login to the Apple Push Certificates Portal

    The Apple ID email address you enter receives certificate expiry alerts. We recommend you use an active, generic email address to ensure renewal notifications have multiple recipients within your organization. Do not use a personal Apple ID (for example, one that's already associated with the App Store).

  2. Click Download CSR to store the .csr file locally
  3. Click Next

The Create Certificates dialog displays.

  1. Click the Apple Push Certificates Portal link to create a certificate:

    1. Sign in to the Apple portal with the Apple ID used when the CSR was downloaded (if required)

        Account: sign in using your Apple ID

        Customer: sign in using your customer’s Apple ID

      When you renew this certificate, you must log into the Apple Push Certificates Portal with this same Apple ID. We recommend you record the Apple ID used for future reference.

    2. In the Get Started section, click Create a Certificate and accept Apple’s Terms of Use (where satisfactory)
    3. Under Create a New Push Certificate, click Choose file to navigate to the location of the .csr file and click Open
    4. Enter any relevant information in the Notes field and click Upload

      The Confirmation screen provides information on the Service, Vendor, and the certificate's Expiration Date

    5. Click Download to retrieve a copy of the certificate (.pem file)
  2. Return to N-central and click Next

    The Upload certificate dialog displays.

  1. Drag and drop the Apple Push Notification certificate (.pem) file into the main window or use browse to navigate to the file and select it

  2. Click Finish
  3. Review the confirmation message

    Information about the certificate including its expiration date and number of days to renewal is displayed

Devices require re-enrollment if they are moved between clients with different Push Notification Certificates, or when you add a customer push certificate for a client and their devices were previously registered under your account certificate.