I’ve been working with push notifications using Apple APN Remote push notifications for the past few weeks, and just wanted to post a few notes on this. My project was using the .Net webAPI for services, and there are a few basic examples out there to build upon. The frustrating part about Apple APN is debugging, as it is not possible to get a response when submitting a request. Also, setting up the certificates in IIS takes some patience. Here are the steps I used to get APN going:
- Generate .p12 file on ios dev center
- Copy to windows server
- Open mmc.exe and import .p12 file into the “console root -> Certificates(Local Machine)” certificates, and file under “Personal
- Add permissions to the certificate as follows:
- Go to Start > Run
- Type mmc and press Enter
- Click on File > Add/Remove Snap-in
- Select the Certificates snap-in and click Add
- Select the Computer account option and click Next
- Select the Local Computer option and click Finish
- Click OK
- Expand Certificates > Personal and select the Certificates folder
- Right-click on Apple Push Notification Service – Client Certificate and select All Tasks > Manage Private Keys
- On the Security tab for the properties of the certificate, click Add
- Type Authenticated Users and click Check Name then “OK”
- Select the Read check box under the Allow column
- Click Apply then OK
- Note: you will need to specify a development or production request for APN. This can be added to the .net web.config file, as an appSettings entry.