January 2023

Apple Push Notifications (APNS)

APNS is a notification service used to push notifications on Apple devices. 
 
APNs workflow: 
iOS requests a device token from Apple Push Notification Service (APNS).
The app receives the token, which functions as the address to send a push notification to.
The app sends the token of the device to your server.
When prompted, the server will send a push notification with a device token to the APNS.
APNS will send a push notification to the user’s device.
 
APNS hosts and ports
If you use a firewall or private Access Point Name for cellular data, your Apple devices must be able to connect to specific ports on specific hosts:
 
TCP port 5223 to communicate with APNs.
TCP port 443 or 2197 to send notifications to APNs.
TCP port 443 is used during device activation, and afterwards for fallback if devices can't reach APNs on port 5223.
IP range- 17.0.0.0/8

An Apple MDM Push certificate is required for Intune to manage iOS/iPadOS and macOS devices. After you add the certificate to Intune, your users can enroll their devices using:
•	The Company Portal app.
•	Apple's bulk enrollment methods like ADE
The Apple MDM push certificate is valid for one year and must be renewed annually to maintain iOS/iPadOS and macOS device management. If your certificate expires, enrolled Apple devices cannot be contacted.
When a push certificate expires, you must renew it. When renewing, make sure to use the same Apple ID that you used when you first created the push certificate. If you request a new certificate instead of renewing your existing certificate, you will be forced to unenroll and re-enroll all of your existing iOS devices.
 
Steps to get your certificate
choose Devices > Enroll devices > Apple enrollment > Apple MDM Push Certificate
Select I agree. to give Microsoft permission to send data to Apple.
Select Download your CSR to download and save the request file locally. The file is used to request a trust relationship certificate from the Apple Push Certificates Portal.
Select Create your MDM push Certificate to go to the Apple Push Certificates Portal. Sign in with your company email address Apple ID, and then click Create a Certificate. Select Choose File and browse to the certificate signing request file, and then choose Upload. On the Confirmation page, choose Download to the download the certificate (.pem) file, and save the file locally.
(Record this ID as a reminder for when you need to renew this certificate.)
Now Go to Endpoint portal again and Enter the Apple ID used to create your Apple MDM push certificate and click on Select a file under “Browse to your Apple MDM push certificate to upload” section , select the certificate (.pem) file, choose Open, and then choose Upload. 

Renew Apple MDM push certificate
1.	Sign in to the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center, choose Devices > Enroll devices > Apple enrollment > Apple MDM Push Certificate.
2.	Choose Download your CSR to download and save the request file locally. The file is used to request a trust relationship certificate from the Apple Push Certificates Portal.
3.	Select Create your MDM push Certificate to go to the Apple Push Certificates Portal. Find the certificate you want to renew and select Renew.
4.	On the Renew Push Certificate screen, provide notes to help you identify the certificate in the future, select Choose File to browse to the new request file you downloaded, and choose Upload.
5.	On the Confirmation screen, select Download and save the .pem file locally.
6.	In Intune, select the Apple MDM push certificate browse icon, select the .pem file downloaded from Apple, and choose Upload.
      Your Apple MDM push certificate appears Active and has 365 days until expiration.

Note: A Certificate can be identified by its UID. Examine the Subject ID in the certificate details to find the GUID portion of the UID. Or, on an enrolled iOS/iPadOS device, go to Settings > General > Device Management > Management Profile > More Details > Management Profile. The second line item, Topic, contains the unique GUID that you can match up to the certificate in the Apple Push Certificates portal.