Does Firebase Push Notification Service Need New Certificates Due to APNs Update

Question

Created Dec ’24

Replies 4

Boosts 2

Views 4.2k

Participants 5

Hi, With the upcoming changes to the Apple Push Notification service (APNs) server certificates — including the SHA-2 Root: USERTrust RSA Certification Authority certificate update — I wanted to clarify if we need to take any action with Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM).

Since we’re using FCM to send push notifications to iOS devices, does Firebase also need to update its server certificates in response to these changes, or will Firebase handle the updates automatically? We understand that Apple recommends updating our Trust Store to include the new certificates for APNs, but we’re unsure if any action is needed on our end for FCM specifically.

Thanks in advance for the clarification!

Boost

Answer 1

Engineer OP

Apple

Dec ’24

This certificate update is only needed for developers who are running their own push servers to directly communicate with APNs.

3rd party push providers will need to handle this certificate update on their end.

If you are not certain that your provider may not be ready for this update, you would want to double check with them.

Argun Tekant /  DTS Engineer / Core Technologies

7

Answer 2

Chitransh OP

1w

Hi Argun, I am using node apn module to make APNS requests. I am not sure where to put this certificate. Is this to be put along with the request in apn.provider along with key? Or to be added in node truststore?

0

Answer 3

ShashiRanjan33 OP

1w

Apple has announced that the server certificate will be updated in the Sandbox environment on January 20, 2025. We are using Firebase as our third-party push notification provider. How can we test the updated certificate in the Sandbox environment once it's available to minimize risks in the production environment?

2

Answer 4

NoobFly OP

2d

I'm using firebase but got [Error: [messaging/unknown] The operation couldn’t be completed. No APNS token specified before fetching FCM Token] today without changing anything.

0