Renewing Your Apple Push Notification Service (APNs) Certificate

The Apple Push Notifications service (APNs) certificate allows you to create a trusted relationship between your devices, Apple, and Jamf Now, and is an important step in setting up your Jamf Now account.

Note:

The APNs certificate is required to manage devices with MDM. Feel free to renew your certificate at any time before it expires. APNs certificates must be renewed annually.

Requirements

Before renewing your certificate, you'll want to verify that:

  • Your Jamf Now account is in normal working order.

  • You have an existing APNs Certificate that is ready for renewal.

Note:

During renewal, you will need to use the same Apple ID that you used to generate your original APNs certificate. If you cannot remember your Apple ID, please refer to the article Determining the Apple ID Used for Apple Push Notification Service (APNs) Setup

  1. Log in to Jamf Now.
  2. Click APNs in the left-hand navigation menu. Your existing APNs certificate will be displayed on this page, along with your Apple ID if you previously saved it when setting up APNs.
  3. Click Renew, and you will see a four-step process appear.

    Screenshot of the APNs section, displaying step one in the four-step process involving renewing your push certificate.

  4. Click Download Certificate Signing Request.plist and click Next.
  5. Click Open the Apple Push Certificates Portal. A new window will open and you will be asked to reauthenticate with the Apple ID and password that you used to originally generate your APNs certificate.

    • If you can't remember which certificate you should renew for this account, the serial number and expiration date are listed in Step 2 of the APNs setup process in Jamf Now.

    • Click Renew next to the appropriate certificate. Then, click Choose File to upload the Signing Request that you downloaded from Jamf Now, and click Upload.

    • If the upload is successful, you will see a confirmation message with a green check mark. Click Download to grab a copy of your renewed APNs certificate, then head back to Jamf Now to complete the setup by clicking Next.

  6. To upload your new APNs certificate, either drag-and-drop your file into the dotted box or click Browse to find the new certificate on your computer. Click Next.

    We highly recommend saving your Apple ID in Jamf Now, allowing for an easier renewal process

Your APNs certificate is now renewed and is valid for another 12 months.