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FAQ

Understanding the system​

What is a distribution certificate, and why is it shared?​

A distribution certificate is required to sign and submit apps to the App Store. Our shared certificate approach streamlines management, avoids certificate limits, and simplifies renewals.

What’s the difference between development and distribution provisioning profiles?​

  • Development profiles allow you to test your app on registered devices.
  • Distribution profiles are required to release your app on the App Store.

Setup and access​

Do I need to register test devices?​

Yes, for development profiles. Please provide each device’s UDID and name.

Can I manage my app directly in App Store Connect?​

Yes. We’ll assign roles to your team so you can manage your app. Certificates, provisioning profiles, identifiers, and APNs credentials remain managed by AppInChina.

How do I update my app’s capabilities later?​

Inform us of any changes. We’ll update the App Identifier and regenerate the necessary provisioning profiles. If the change affects push notifications, we’ll also issue an updated topic-specific APNs authentication key if required.

Can you manage App Groups or Merchant IDs for my app?​

Yes. We support App Groups, Merchant IDs, and other Apple service identifiers.

Can my CI/CD pipeline fetch profiles or certificates automatically from the Apple Developer portal?​

No. Configure your pipeline to use the files we provide directly.

Why can’t I upload my app directly from Xcode?​

Uploading a build directly from Xcode requires access to the Apple Developer Program account that owns the app’s certificates and provisioning profiles.

In our shared distribution certificate setup, AppInChina centrally manages all Apple Developer account resources to ensure security, consistency, and compliance. Client teams are therefore not granted Developer Program access, even if they have App Store Connect roles.

To submit builds without Developer Program access, please export an IPA from Xcode and upload it using Apple Transporter.

Push notifications (APNs)​

What APNs credentials will I receive?​

If your app uses push notifications, we issue a topic-specific APNs authentication key scoped to your app’s Bundle ID. You will receive:

  • The .p8 key file
  • Key ID
  • Team ID
  • Environment (Sandbox or Production)
  • Topic / Bundle ID covered by the key

You send notifications from your own backend using these values. We do not use certificate-based APNs credentials (.cer / .p12).

Do I need both Sandbox and Production APNs keys?​

Request Sandbox if you will test push on development or TestFlight-style builds, and Production for live App Store builds. If you need both, we issue a separate key for each environment.

Why is the APNs key scoped to my Bundle ID?​

Our shared Apple Developer account hosts multiple client apps. A topic-specific key can only send push for the Bundle ID it is bound to, which keeps credentials isolated to your app.

Do APNs authentication keys expire?​

APNs authentication keys do not expire the way SSL certificates do. We revoke and reissue a key only if it is lost, compromised, or needs to be replaced.

Support and communication​

Who do I contact for support with certificates, provisioning profiles, or APNs?​

Please reach out to our support team or your account manager.

What should I include in my support request?​

Include a description of the issue, relevant error messages, and affected Bundle IDs.

Security & data handling​

Is sharing certificates and provisioning profiles via 1Password secure?​

Yes. 1Password uses end-to-end encryption. Restrict access to authorized personnel only.

How can we verify that the certificates and provisioning profiles belong to our app?​

You can inspect the .mobileprovision file on macOS to confirm the App ID, Team ID, entitlements, and validity period.

Project lifecycle and admin​

What happens if we stop working with AppInChina?​

We’ll revoke App Store Connect access and stop maintaining Apple Developer resources for your app (certificates, profiles, identifiers, APNs authentication keys).

Note: Apple test device registrations cannot always be removed immediately (Apple restrictions apply, and devices may remain registered until the membership year resets). We will not register new devices for your app after offboarding.

How long does the setup take?​

After receiving all required information, setup typically takes 1–3 business days.

How often are certificates and provisioning profiles renewed?​

Signing certificates generally have a one-year validity. Shared certificates may have an initial shorter validity (but never less than six months). We handle renewals and distribute updated files proactively.

APNs authentication keys do not expire on that yearly cycle; see Do APNs authentication keys expire?.