Transfer APNs certificate from a former employee’s Apple ID without re-enrolling devicesSolved

Participant
Discussion
3 weeks ago Jun 18, 2026

Our Apple Push Notification service certificate was renewed recently, but we noticed it is tied to a former employee’s personal Apple ID. We want to move it to a shared corporate Apple ID so this does not happen again.

Can the existing APNs certificate be transferred to another Apple ID in Hexnode, or do we need to create a new certificate? I’m concerned about breaking management for already enrolled Apple devices.

Replies (2)

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Hexnode Expert
2 weeks ago Jun 18, 2026
Marked SolutionPending Review

Hi @ronnie,

You should not upload a newly generated APNs certificate created with a different Apple Account as a replacement for the existing one.

APNs certificates are tied to the Apple Account used to create them. If a new certificate from a different Apple Account is uploaded, it will not match the existing APNs certificate used for enrollment. As a result, previously enrolled Apple devices would need to be removed and re-enrolled.

The recommended approach is to contact Apple Support and request a transfer of the existing APNs certificate to the new Apple Account or shared corporate Apple Account.

Apple may ask for the following certificate details:

  • Unique Identifier, also known as UID
  • Common Name
  • Serial Number

These details can be found in the Hexnode portal under Admin > APNs.

If your organization has an AppleCare Enterprise support agreement, the transfer request can usually be submitted through that channel. Otherwise, Apple Deployment Programs Support can assist with APNs certificate-related requests.

If Apple is unable to transfer the certificate, the only alternative is to create a new APNs certificate. However, that would require re-enrolling all previously enrolled Apple devices, so it is not recommended unless there is no other option.

Regards,
Sienna Carter
Hexnode UEM

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Participant
2 weeks ago Jun 18, 2026
Marked SolutionPending Review

Got it. We’ll contact Apple and ask them to transfer the certificate instead of creating a new one.

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