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'Could not send Apple Push Notification'

Hi, I've noticed a few of these Apple push notification errors, looking at the logs one used to occur maybe once every few weeks with a 'timed out' error, but recent errors don't mention a timeout. I rebooted my computer and updated SecuritySpy yesterday morning, but now am getting even more of them, Is there any way for me to further investigate the cause? Here's the relevant logs:

31/01/2022 12:43:59: Could not send Apple Push Notification 5.3.4,2850,800 The operation timed out. 

07/02/2022 14:20:39: Could not send Apple Push Notification 5.3.4,2850,800 The operation timed out. 

26/03/2022 11:11:47: Could not send Apple Push Notification 5.4.0,2850,35 

26/03/2022 13:54:04: Could not send Apple Push Notification 5.4.0,2850,35 

02/04/2022 15:35:26: Could not send Apple Push Notification 5.4.0,2850,800 The operation timed out. 

04/04/2022 11:57:39: Could not send Apple Push Notification 5.4.1,2850,56 

04/04/2022 12:57:44: Could not send Apple Push Notification 5.4.1,2850,56 

04/04/2022 14:20:05: Could not send Apple Push Notification 5.4.1,2850,56 

04/04/2022 15:12:01: Could not send Apple Push Notification 5.4.1,2850,56 

04/04/2022 15:55:58: Could not send Apple Push Notification 5.4.1,2850,56 

04/04/2022 16:29:00: Could not send Apple Push Notification 5.4.1,2850,56 

04/04/2022 17:40:47: Could not send Apple Push Notification 5.4.1,2850,56 

04/04/2022 18:37:03: Could not send Apple Push Notification 5.4.1,2850,56 

04/04/2022 19:33:02: Could not send Apple Push Notification 5.4.1,2850,56 

04/04/2022 20:28:48: Could not send Apple Push Notification 5.4.1,2850,56 

Computer: iMac running Mojave 10.14.6

Comments

  • Are these when your phone is on the same network or are you off the same network when these are in the log?

  • These errors indicate a problem sending the notification to Apple's servers for delivery.

    Are you getting any notifications through at all?

    Do you have any kind of firewall or connection-blocking software (e.g. "Little Snitch") that could be blocking SecuritySpy's outgoing connection?

  • I believe we have now found and fixed this problem, which was due to an out-of-date certificate. These certificates are used to authenticate with Apple's push notification servers, and must be valid in order to send notifications. SecuritySpy periodically downloads updated certificates from our servers automatically, so it's possible that this problem has since gone away by itself, but if not, please download and install the latest beta version of SecuritySpy, which has the new certificate built in.

  • Hi Ben, I have this error repeating every few hours as well. I am running 5.5.1. Will the beta you mentioned clear it up?

    10/10/2022 20:28:20: Could not send Apple Push Notification 5.5.0,2850,56

    10/10/2022 21:00:22: Could not send Apple Push Notification 5.5.0,2850,56

    10/11/2022 01:49:25: Could not send Apple Push Notification 5.5.1,2850,56

    10/11/2022 02:58:25: Could not send Apple Push Notification 5.5.1,2850,56

    10/11/2022 04:45:24: Could not send Apple Push Notification 5.5.1,2850,56

    10/11/2022 06:16:46: Could not send Apple Push Notification 5.5.1,2850,56

    Mac OS 11.6.5

    Thanks! Love Security Spy.

  • Hi @ndavies it's surprising you are seeing this with v5.5.1, as this version includes a certificate that is far from its expiry date. I don't think the current beta will help here, as it contains the same certificate as v5.5.1. Please try this:

    • In SecuritySpy, select the menu option at File > Open Folder > Application Support
    • Delete the file "securityspy.crt" that you will find in this folder
    • Quit and reopen SecuritySpy
    • You should see that the securityspy.crt file has been re-created and if you preview it (select it in the Finder and press the space bar on the keyboard), it should have an expiry date of April 2023.

    Please let me know if this fixes the problem or not.

  • Hi Ben,

    Thank you for the rapid response.

    I've changed the .crt file as you explained, done at 7:35am, the image reflects the new file, but the messages persist.

    10/12/2022 07:07:31: Could not send Apple Push Notification 5.5.1,2850,56

    10/12/2022 07:31:10: Could not send Apple Push Notification 5.5.1,2850,56

    10/12/2022 08:03:20: Could not send Apple Push Notification 5.5.1,2850,56

    10/12/2022 08:54:13: Could not send Apple Push Notification 5.5.1,2850,56

  • In that case, this problem is not related to the certificate, which is quite surprising as this is the only cause we know of for this particular error message.

    Please try this:

    • In SecuritySpy, select the menu option at SecuritySpy > Debug > Clear All iOS Notification Devices
    • Reboot your Mac
    • Open the SecuritySpy iOS app on your iPhone/iPad and connect to your SecuritySpy server
    • Wait until there is motion (or cause it yourself) and see if you get a notification or another error

    Does this resolve the problem?

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