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Home » Blogs » How to Generate and Upload a .p12 Certificate for iOS Push Notifications
By Gaurav Parvadiya | Last Updated On January 9th, 2026
iOS push notification certificate missing? Your messages aren’t reaching users — and your revenue’s taking the hit. Fix it with a .p12 file and unlock full delivery.
The right Certificate iOS Push Notifications can be a game-changer for your app. They can drive engagement, retention, and revenue. Most developers don’t take the time to learn. If you can take the time to learn this cert, your app will grow.
In this day and age, for an app to be successful, it has to employ iOS Push Notifications. The iOS Push Notifications have to be successful to keep the users engaged. It doesn’t matter if the user is new, there is an offer, or there is an attempt to re-engage the user; the Notifications will drive the behavior of the user. The Notifications need to be carefully and strategically silenced.
App owners widely ignore shortcuts to boost app engagement because of silent notifications—notifications that are missed due to lack of engagement opportunities. Stats app revenue says 70% of app profit comes from targeted push campaign messages. Less than 60% of apps send these messages because of missing app certificates. Lack of an iOS .p12 certificate means that Apple doesn’t trust your app, so push messages are silenced.
The messages Apple sends to your app concern the revenue you cannot capture—20% of potential revenue lost because of the lack of messages that Apple has silenced. User retention increases because of the app’s ability to send push messages. It’s significant; McKinsey’s data says conversion rates shoot up 30% due to personalized messages, yet over 50% of apps ignore silencing push messages.
Without Apple silencing messages, you lose overwhelmingly increasing app engagement. You need to capture user app engagement by uploading a .p12 certificate.
Go to Apple Developer, log in, and ensure the account used has the required permissions to create and manage certificates (Administrator or App Manager). If the account is restricted, gaining the needed access can be time-consuming.
On your Mac, launch Keychain Access (Applications > Utilities).
On the Developer portal:
Twinr and other no-code tools provide special functionality for this purpose:
Check to make sure your .p12 certificate is valid, that it is uploaded properly, and that it is connected to your app. Also, make sure that the code in your app and the Apple Developer portal has push notifications enabled.
Make sure you are on the right certificate type, and check to see if the correct passphrase was used. Also check your network connection, and make sure the onboarding process on your platform matches your configuration.
Set notifications so you can take action before a certificate expires. You will need to upload the recent certificate, revoke the previous one, and take the test again.
Absolutely. Services like Twinr simplify the process. They centralize your push credentials and make it easy to create, store, and renew your certificates without manually handling files.
Upload your iOS .p12 certificate, and you’re done.
With Twinr, a lot of this process is automated: the system will track when you need to renew your certificate and guide you through the process of certificate management so you don’t have to. We make sure your push notifications comply with Apple’s standards so you can focus on growth.
With Twinr, you will no longer need to manually manage certificates, which will increase your team’s frustration. You will be able to focus on enhancing customer engagement.
Many app owners overlook the individual nuances needed to create and upload their iOS push notification .p12 certificates. Master it, or let Twinr take care of it for you. Either way, the end result will be a dependable and highly engaged communication channel that will help you increase user retention and revenue.
Eliminate the guesswork by starting with Twinr’s no-code platform to automate and manage your push credentials, and get back to building user connections, not solving problems. [Book a demo now] and transform every notification into a powerful growth tool.
Yes, Apple suggests performing a renewal every year because you may run into expiration issues that result in notification silence.
You can use some platform testing tools or check the logs on your device. There are some platforms like Twinr that have a built-in test you can use to confirm successful delivery.
Make sure the passphrase is correct, the certificate is exported properly, and check your user permissions.
Yes. You should always keep your app credentials apart. With Twinr, you can manage everything from one place.
Apple’s policies are the most secure amongst all providers, but that is for good reason. Certificates are the way to prove your identity to the to the system in order to protect users from unsafe messaging.
Gaurav is the founder and CEO of Twinr, a tech entrepreneur with a decade of experience and a passion for SaaS. With a Master's degree in Computer Science, he specializes in no-code development, driving innovation in the mobile app industry. When he's not busy growing the company, you'll find him writing about tech, growth, software development, e-commerce, and occasionally sneaking in a game of badminton.