The purpose of this page is twofold:

  • To outline the steps needed to obtain your developer accounts with both Apple and Google for app submission.
  • To outline the steps needed for initial account setup, both within your developer accounts and within your MobileSmith Account.

You will need to complete these steps before you can deploy your app or submit it to public app stores.

 

Before you can start building apps with your MobileSmith Account, you’ll need to obtain three types of developer accounts.

Accounts

iOS Accounts

Apple offers a variety of ways to distribute mobile applications with each way requiring a different account. If you would like to distribute your apps via the Apple App Store, you can do this by getting an account with the iOS Developer Program.

**Note** You will be required to create most of the Apple Developer account assets with a Mac computer.

iOS Developer Enterprise Program Account

The iOS Developer Enterprise Program account has a $299/year fee and can be created by clicking ‘Enroll’ at the following link:

https://developer.apple.com/programs/ios/enterprise/

You must be a company or organization to enroll and will be required to provide the D-U-N-S number registered to your legal entity.

iOS Developer Program Account

The iOS Developer Program account has a $99/year fee and can be created by clicking ‘Enroll’ at the following link: 

https://developer.apple.com/programs/ios/

 If you are enrolling as a company, you will be required to provide the D-U-N-S number registered to your legal entity.

Google Accounts

Google Play Developer Console Account

In order to submit an app to the Google Play store, you must have a Google Play Developer Console account. Navigate to https://accounts.google.com/ and click the Sign up button to create an account. There will be a one-time only registration fee of $25.

The rest of the page will walk you through the process of setting up your accounts once you have obtained them from the above links.

 

Global Account Assets

For each customer account in the MobileSmith platform, certain certificates are needed.  From an Apple perspective a certificate signing request (CSR) is needed when creating many of the files.  Creating the CSR and other Global Account information is a one-time set up that only needs to happen during the initial setup of the MobileSmith platform customer account.  This can only be created on a MAC computer.

iOS Developer Enterprise Program

The iOS Dev Center steps to create your assets will be the same regardless of whether you are planning to submit your app(s) to the store or deliver through internal distribution. The only difference is which account is used to create the assets. Complete the below steps in your iOS Developer Enterprise Program Account.

 

Certificate Signing Request (CSR)

1. Using the Spotlight tool on your MAC, search for ‘keychain’ and click the Keychain Access Application from the list.

 

 

2. Once the Keychain Access application starts, go to Keychain Access -> Certificate Assistant -> Request a Certificate From a Certificate Authority…

 

 

3. Enter an email address and a name for the certificate (eg. John Doe Dev Key) and select "Saved to disk".

**NOTE** CA Email address is not required since the "Saved to disk" option is selected.

 

 

4. Save the file as ‘some_unique_name’.certSigningRequest.

 

 

Congrats!  Your CSR has been created.

 

Global Distribution Certificate

Your account in MobileSmith Platform will need a Global Distribution Certificate which represents your signed account. If you plan to distribute your mobile app via the Apple App Store then you should follow these steps using your iOS Developer Enterprise Program account. If you plan to distribute your mobile app Ad-hoc internal distribution then you would follow these steps using your iOS Developer Enterprise Program account.

 

1. Navigate to the iOS Dev Center: https://developer.apple.com/ios/download/

 

 

2. Click the Log In hyperlink and enter your Apple credentials and click ‘Sign In’.

 

 

3. Once finished you will be on the iOS Dev Center main page. Click ‘Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles’.

 

4. On the next page, click the ‘Certificates’ link in the iOS Apps column. You will be directed to all certificates created for your account. This will ultimately include Development, Distribution and Push Certificates.

 

5. To create the Global Distribution Certificate click the ‘+’ button at the top of the right panel.

 

6. Scroll down to the Production section and select the radio button for ‘In House and Ad Hoc’ then click Continue at the bottom of the page.

 

7. The next page asks for you to upload your CSR, which you learned how to create in the previous step of this document. Upload your CSR and then click continue to move to the next step.

 

8. After you upload your CSR click the Generate button. When your certificate is ready click the ‘Download’ button. After your signed Distribution Certificate is downloaded, click Done and you will be returned to the ‘All’ view of the Certificates section.

 

9. Navigate to this file in your Finder and double click it so it will be added to your local keychain.

To validate this was done correctly open your Keychain Application and in the left page make sure ‘login’ is the selected Keychain and ‘Certificates’ is the selected Category. Your created certificate should say ‘iPhone Distribution: <your company name> and have an expandable carat arrow which will show your private key when expanded. It should look like the image below:

 

10. This certificate needs to be provided to MobileSmith so it can be uploaded into your account in the MobileSmith platform. Therefore, you will need to export the certificate into a .p12 file using the following instructions:

a. In the Keychain Application, expand the carat so the private key portion is showing. Highlight both the certificate and the private key, right click and then select ‘Export 2 items…’
b. You will now be asked to save this file to your computer. The filename SHOULD NOT contain any spaces and ensure the file extension is .p12 (which is the default).
c. Finally after you click save you will be asked twice to supply a password to add security to your certificate. Make note of this password as it will be needed in the MobileSmith platform.

Awesome!  Your Global Distribution Certificate is done.

 

Default Test App

You will need to create a Default Test app in order to set up your prototyping ability in the MobileSmith Platform. This default app will only be used for this purpose, so it should not be deleted from your Enterprise Account once it is created. In the following steps you will create a ‘Default Test’ App ID and Provisioning Profile. Make note of your Bundle ID as you’ll be passing this to your MobileSmith contact, along with your default Provisioning Profile.

Apple

Log into the iOS Dev Center and navigate to the iOS Apps dashboard. You will now want to create a default test App ID and Provisioning Profile.

 

App ID

1. In the left nav bar under Identifiers, click App IDs and then the ‘+’ in the right panel to create a new App ID.

2. On the next page you will need to enter the following information:

a. App ID Description: App Name

b. App ID Suffix: Leave the default Explicit App ID radio button selected and enter a Bundle ID using the recommended style -> com.domainname.appname

 

3. Click Continue and then confirm your App ID on the next page. Following confirmation, click Submit.

 

4. When registration of the App ID is complete click Done and you will now see your App ID listed in the right panel.

Sweet!  Your App ID is official.

 

Provisioning Profile

The final step for Apple is to create the provisioning profile for your application. Remember if you have an iPad version of your app, you’ll need to create a separate Provisioning Profile for that version.

1. To create a new provisioning profile, select ‘Distribution’ under the Provisioning Profiles section in the left nav bar. Then click the ‘+’ in the right panel to start the process.

2. In the Distribution section on the page, you will have different options depending on whether you are creating the profile for the Apple App Store or for internal distribution:

a. For the Apple App Store (iOS Developer Enterprise Program Account) select the radio button next to ‘In House’ and then click Continue.

 

3. The next page displays your App ID for reference. Check to make sure it’s correct and then click Continue.

 

4. On the next page select the radio button next to your Global Distribution Certificate and then click Continue.

 

5. On the next screen enter a Profile Name, which is usually the App Name, and click Generate.

 

6. Download the Provisioning Profile when it is ready. It will have the following format: <ProfileName>.mobileprovision. Click Done and you will now see the Provisioning Profile in the right panel.

**Note** Make note of your Default Test App ID and Provisioning Profile to pass over to your MobileSmith contact.

Super!  Your Provisioning Profile is done.

 

iOS Developer Program

The iOS Dev Center steps to create your assets will be the same regardless of whether you are planning to submit your app(s) to the store or deliver through internal distribution. The only difference is which account is used to create the assets. Complete the below steps in your iOS Developer Program Account.

 

Certificate Signing Request (CSR)

1. Using the Spotlight tool on your MAC, search for ‘keychain’ and click the Keychain Access Application from the list.

 

 

2. Once the Keychain Access application starts, go to Keychain Access -> Certificate Assistant -> Request a Certificate From a Certificate Authority…

 

3. Enter an email address and a name for the certificate (eg. John Doe Dev Key) and select "Saved to disk".

**NOTE** CA Email address is not required since the "Saved to disk" option is selected.

 

 

4. Save the file as 'some_unique_name’.certSigningRequest.

 

 

Congrats!  Your CSR has been created.

 

Global Distribution Certificate

Your account in MobileSmith Platform will need a Global Distribution Certificate which represents your signed account. If you plan to distribute your mobile app via the Apple App Store then you should follow these steps using your iOS Developer Program account. If you plan to distribute your mobile app Ad-hoc internal distribution then you would follow these steps using your iOS Developer Enterprise Program account.

 

 

1. Navigate to the iOS Dev Center: https://developer.apple.com/ios/download/

 

 

 

2. Click the Log In hyperlink and enter your Apple credentials and click ‘Sign In’.

 

 

3. Once finished you will be on the iOS Dev Center main page.  Click ‘Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles’.

 

4. On the next page, click the ‘Certificates’ link in the iOS Apps column. You will be directed to all certificates created for your account. This will ultimately include Development, Distribution and Push Certificates.

 

5. To create the Global Distribution Certificate click the ‘+’ button at the top of the right panel.

 

6. Scroll down to the Production section and select the radio button for ‘App Store and Ad Hoc’ then click Continue at the bottom of the page.

 

7. The next page asks for you to upload your CSR, which you learned how to create in the previous step of this document. Upload your CSR and then click continue to move to the next step.

 

8. After you upload your CSR click the Generate button. When your certificate is ready click the ‘Download’ button. After your signed Distribution Certificate is downloaded, click Done and you will be returned to the ‘All’ view of the Certificates section.

 

9. Navigate to this file in your Finder and double click it so it will be added to your local keychain.

a. To validate this was done correctly open your Keychain Application and in the left page make sure ‘login’ is the selected Keychain and ‘Certificates’ is the selected Category. Your created certificate should say ‘iPhone Distribution: <your company name> and have an expandable carat arrow which will show your private key when expanded. It should look like the image below:

 

10. This certificate needs to be provided to MobileSmith so it can be uploaded into your account in the MobileSmith platform. Therefore, you will need to export the certificate into a .p12 file using the following instructions:

a. In the Keychain Application, expand the carat so the private key portion is showing. Highlight both the certificate and the private key, right click and then select ‘Export 2 items…’

b. You will now be asked to save this file to your computer. The filename SHOULD NOT contain any spaces and ensure the file extension is .p12 (which is the default).

c. Finally after you click save you will be asked twice to supply a password to add security to your certificate. Make note of this password as it will be needed in the MobileSmith platform.

 

Awesome!  Your Global Distribution Certificate is done.

Android

Keystore

Each company should have an Android Keystore which is used in the Android build process. The purpose of the Keystore is to ensure each application is digitally signed with a certificate that is owned by the application developer. Android uses the certificate to identify the author of an application and establish trust relationships between applications.

There is a command line utility for doing this, which should already be installed on any computer with the Java JDK. If you do not have Java JDK a prompt will appear informing you. You can download Java JDK here: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/jdk7-downloads-1880260.html.

Follow the steps below to create the keystore and alias:

 

 

1. On a Mac, using the spotlight tool, search for terminal and open the terminal application from the list. On a PC, click the Windows/Start button and type run in the search box. This will bring up the run box where you will type ‘cmd’ to bring up a terminal.

 

2. Once the terminal is open, type the following command and hit enter:

keytool –genkey –v –keystore <NAME_U_WANT>.keystore –alias<ALIAS_NAME> –keyalg RSA –keysize 2048 –validity 10000

**Note** The only things that need to be updated are surrounded by <>. Just swap these out for the values you want while entering the command. Do not include the <> characters in the command. See screen shot below:

 

3. Now you will be prompted for several pieces of information each time you press enter:

a. Keystore password (must be more than 6 characters)
b. Reenter Keystore (password must match)
c. First and Last name together on one line
d. Organizational unit (Sales, Development, etc.)
e. Organization Name
f. City or Locality
g. State or Province
h. Country Code (2 digits)
i. Confirmation of the above 8 items
j. Now you are asked for the Keystore alias password. However, you can just hit enter if you want to keep it the same as the Keystore password.

 

4. The file is now saved to your computer and you have successfully created an Android Keystore. Make note of the Keystore and Keystore Alias passwords as they will be needed in the MobileSmith platform.

Nice Job!  Your Global Assets have been created.  You are now ready to hand them off to your MobileSmith Contact.

 

Your MobileSmith Account

(Click here to download this section as a document)

You may give us the user name and password for the accounts or invite the following email addresses to have access to your accounts and we can create the necessary credentials for you:

You may also provide us the information we need from the developer accounts if you prefer. The information required is below:

Developer Account Information Needed:

iOS Enterprise Account information

  • Global Certificate - The .p12 file type
  • Global Certificate Password - Generated when you export from your Keychain
  • Company Name - Exactly as it appears in your Enterprise Account
  • Default Provisioning Profile - The .mobileprovision file type
  • Default Bundle ID - com.domainname.appname format


iOS Developer Account

  • Global Certificate - The .p12 file type
  • Global Certificate Password - Generated when you create your Keystore
  • Company Name - Exactly as it appears in your Developer Account


Android

  • Keystore - The .keystore file type
  • Keystore Password - Generated when you create your Keystore
  • Keystore Alias - Generated when you create your Keystore
  • Keystore Alias Password - Generated when you create your Keystore


App Specific Information Needed: 

iOS

  • Push Certificate
  • Push Certificate Password
  • Provisioning Profile


Android

  • Configuration File (google-services.json)
  • Server API Key
  • Sender ID


Analytics

  • Google or Android Analytics Key


If you want us to submit the apps to the stores on your behalf, we will need your login credentials. 


Now you will be ready to deploy your app or submit it to public app stores.

 

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