How to Configure & Send Apple Push Notifications using PushSharp

How to Create an APNS .p12 Certificate on Mac

The tutorial requires that you use a Mac, and that you have an Apple Developer account, with an App ID already setup.

Step 1: Login to Apple Developer Member Center

• Navigate to https://developer.apple.com/membercenter/index.action and Login.
• Click on Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles.

Step 2: Choose your App ID

• Select your App ID from the list (You must have already created your App ID).
• Click Continue.

Step 3: Choose Sandbox or Production

• Choose either Apple Push Notification service SSL (Sandbox) or Apple Push Notification service SSL (Sandbox & Production) as the certificate type, depending on which server you need to connect to.
• Click Continue.

It's important to choose the correct type of certificate here for what you plan on doing.

A Device Token generated by an app signed with a Development Provisioning Profile is only valid for use with the Sandbox APNS server.

A Device Token generated by an app signed with an AdHoc or AppStore Provisioning Profile is only valid for use with the Production APNS server.

NOTE: Some users have reported issues with notification delivery using the combined Apple Push Notification service SSL (Sandbox & Production) certificate when trying to send notifications to the Sandbox APNS server.

Step 4: Information about Requesting a Certificate

• Note the information about creating a CSR (Certificate Signing Request).
• Click Continue.

Step 5: Open Keychain Access

• Open the Keychain Access app.

Step 6: Create a Certificate Signing Request

• Click the Keychain Access menu bar item
• Open the Certificate Assistant menu sub item
• Click the Request a Certificate From a Certificate Authority... menu sub item

Step 7: Enter Certificate Signing Request Details

• Enter your email address (to be safe, make it the same as your Apple ID developer account email address).
• Enter a Common Name (eg: your name)
• Choose Request is: Saved to disk
• Click Continue.

Step 8: Save the Certificate Signing Request

• Pick a location and filename to save the request to
• Click Save.

Step 9: Complete Certificate Signing Request

• Click Done.

Step 10: Upload the Certificate Signing Request

• Switch back to your browser.
• Click Choose File...
• Select the Certificate Signing Request file you just created and saved.
• Click Continue.

Step 11: Download the Certificate

• Your certificate should be ready.
• Click Download to download the certificate.
• Open the downloaded certificate file (it should automatically open in Keychain Access, otherwise open it manually in Keychain Access)

Step 12: Find the Certificate and Private Key

• Find the certificate you just opened/imported in Keychain Access
• Expand the certificate to show the Private Key

Step 13: Export the Private Key

• Select only the Private Key portion of the certificate
• Right click the Private Key portion of the certificate
• Click Export "Common Name"... on the popup menu.

Step 14: Choose a Location for the Exported Key

• Choose a location and filename to export the .p12 file to
• Click Save.

Step 15: Password Protect the .p12 File

• Optionally choose a password for the .p12 file to protect its private key contents.
• Click OK.

Done!

You should now have a .p12 file that contains the private key for connecting to Apple's APNS servers. This certificate file can be used in PushSharp with the password for it.

Congratulations, you did it!